/, 


THE   ROUND   TRIP 


FROM  THE  HUB 


TO 


THE    GOLDEN    GATE 


BY 

SUSIE    C.    CLARK 

AUTHOR  OF  "A  LOOK  UPWARD"  "To  BEAR  WITNESS"  ETC. 


BOSTON  MDCCCXC 
LEE    AND     SHEPARD     PUBLISHERS 

10  MILK  STREET  NEXT  "  THE  OLD  SOUTH  MEETING  HOUSE  " 

NEW  YORK  CHARLES  T.  DILLINGHAM 
9  .  718  AND  720  BROADWAY 


COPYRIGHT,  1890,  BY  SUSIE  C.  CLARK 


THE    ROUND    TRIP 


PRESS  OF 

AMERICAN  PRINTING  AND  ENGRAVING  Co. 
50  ARCH  STREET,  BOSTON 


175C 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  DEPARTURE    '. 5 

II.  THROUGH  CANADA  TO  CHICAGO 10 

III.  ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  SANTA  FE 15 

IV.  OVER  THE  DESERT  TO  PARADISE 20 

V.  PASADENA 24 

VI.  PSAADENA  —  ITS   ENVIRONS 30 

VII.  Los  ANGELES  —  SANTA  MONICA 36 

VIII.  SANTA  BARBARA 41 

IX.  RIVERSIDE 48 

X.  SAN  DIEGO 54 

XI.  EN  ROUTE 62 

XII.  SAN  FRANCISCO 71 

XIII.  OAKLAND ,    ,    .  81 

XIV.  THE  RAINY  SEASON 87 

XV.  SONOMA  COUNTY 93 

XVI.  THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY 99 

XVII.  SANTA  CRUZ  —  MONTEREY in 

XVIII.  To  THE  Yo  SEMITE 119 

XIX.  IN  THE  VALLEY 132 

XX.  HOMEWARD  BOUND '   .     .  144 

XXL  SALT  LAKE  CITY 153 

XXII.  THE  SCENIC  ROUTE 163 

XXIII.  How  WE  SPENT  MEMORIAL  DAY 172 

XXIV.  THE  HOME  STRETCH     .    .     .    , 183 


334 


THE   ROUND   TRIP 


CHAPTER   I 

DEPARTURE 

A  CERTAIN  dear  little  lady,  who  was  so  un 
fortunate  (though  she  might  not  agree  with 
our  representation  of  the  case)  as  to  marry  a  naval 
officer,  and  consequently  spent  her  days  migrating 
from  one  port  to  another,  on  the  eastern,  western, 
or  southern  shores  of  our  republic,  according  to 
the  transient  location  of  her  husband's  ship,  that 
she  might  gain  occasional  glimpses  of  the  glitter 
ing  shoulder-straps  and  brass  buttons  of  her  truant 
lord,  once  gave  to  us  as  her  profound  conviction, 
this  maxim  :  "If  you  want  to  be  uncomfortable  — 
travel!  " 

We  could  not  gainsay  her  then,  but  can  see 
plainly  enough  now,  that  the  confession  ranked 
her  as  one  who  has  never  placed  herself  under  the 
espionage  of  those  successful  managers,  Messrs. 
Raymond  and  Whitcomb,  who  make  of  travelling 
a  science  and  an  art,  whose  trains  furnish  every 
feature  of  a  home  but  its  usual  stationary  quality, 


6  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

and  this  is  not  always  one  to  be  desired.  Human 
as  well  as  vegetable  growth  is  often  encouraged 
by  the  process  of  transplanting,  and  removal  in 
this  instance  is  accomplished  so  deftly,  skillfully 
and  delightfully  that  the  wrench  of  leaving  one's 
native  soil  is  scarcely  felt,  even  though  the  new 
habitat  is  the  width  of  a  continent  distant,  and 
active  life  is  resumed  in  a  new  world,  a  new 
climate,  and  under  sunnier  skies  than  the  rock- 
bound  coast  of  dear  old  New  England  affords. 

But  California  is  much  nearer  Boston  than  it 
was  in  '49.  The  journey  thither  is  hardly  now 
considered  much  of  a  trip.  The  Raymonds  cer 
tainly  leave  you  no  anxiety  in  regard  to  it,  and 
little  to  do  but  to  fold  your  arms  and  be  taken 
care  of.  The  start  is  made  from  the  station  at  the 
foot  of  Causeway  street,  which  structure  seems  a 
relic  of  some  feudal  age,  and  makes  a  refreshing 
oasis  to  the  artistic  eye  amid  the  square,  stiff,  red 
walls  of  its  democratic  surroundings.  Its  stern 
exterior  and  battlemented  towers,  with  its  moat 
and  draw-bridge  might  have  served  as  a  castle 
of  the  Norman  conqueror,  although  his  outposts 
of  defence  were  not  adorned  by  such  mazy  net 
work  of  electric  wires. 

The  Fitchburg's  straight  and  narrow  path  runs 
through  classic  ground  ;  Cambridge,  earliest  home 
of  letters,  name  indissolubly  connected  with 
memories  of  Longfellow,  Agassiz,  Holmes,  Gray, 


DEPARTURE  7 

and  a  score  of  lesser  lights,  Cambridge,  which  also 
holds  the  deserted  hearthstone,  and  the  friends 
who  waft,  we  know,  a  strong  God-speed  ;  Belmont, 
long  the  home  of  Howells ;  Waverley,  whose 
ancient  oaks  and  Beaver  brook  are  immortalized 
in  Lowell's  limpid  verse ;  Waltham,  making  time 
for  half  the  world  ;  and  Concord, 

"  Where  first  th'  embattled  farmers  stood, 
And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world,' 

the  opening  of  that  history,  written  in  the  nation's 
heart-blood,  whose  second  chapter  is  marked  by 
the  granite  shaft  which  rises  from  Charlestown's 
hill.  Fair  Walden's  placid  wave  recalls  the  gentle 
soul  who  built  a  lodge  upon  its  shore  and  learned 
his  lessons  in  Nature's  school.  The  tall  hemlocks 
and  whispering  pines  that  fringe  its  banks,  chant 
no  requiem  in  our  ears  for  the  departed  great  - 
Emerson  and  Hawthorne,  Thoreau  and  Alcott  — 
whose  fellowship  they  have  enjoyed,  but  murmur 
thanks  that  some  there  are  in  every  age  who 
understand  their  song  and  interpret  all  their 
mystic  lore  in  words  that  our  duller  ears  can 
reach. 

Darkness  begins  to  settle  as  we  enter  the  lovely 
Deerfield  valley,  veiling  the  winding  river  and 
diversity  of  hill  and  glen,  the  grace  of  outline  and 
brilliancy  of  autumnal  foliage.  But  here  the  cour 
teous  conductor  invites  us  to  the  dining  car,  where 


8  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

attentive  liveried  waiters  present  us  with  a  menu 
that  might  well  engage  the  attention  of  the  most 
fastidious  epicure. 

Later  on,  our  commodious  section  is  converted 
into  a  tempting  couch,  and  just  as  we  are  compos 
ing  ourselves  to  rest  thereon,  no  less  secure  in  the 
protection  which  never  faileth  than  we  would  be 
in  the  familiar  home-nest,  a  parting  glance  of  in 
quiry  toward  the  outside  world  reveals  a  giant 
mountain  wall  directly  athwart  our  path.  Even  our 
iron  horse  pauses  for  the  moment,  as  if  dismayed, 
then  with  two  or  three  exultant  neighs  plunges 
straight  onward,  for  the  giant  opes  his  heart  and 
lets  us  in.  Mind  has  conquered  matter,  as  it 
always  must,  being  its  parent.  Ten  minutes  or 
more  are  required  for  the  gloomy  passage,  but 
what  do  those  ten  minutes  represent  ?  What  years 
of  patient  toil,  and  herculean  obstacles  overcome, 

"  Ere  first  the  locomotive  wheels 
Rolled  thro'  the  Hoosac  tunnel  bore." 

First  projected  in  1825,  the  tunnel  was  discussed 
in  legislative  halls  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  was 
laid  repeatedly  on  the  table  and  partially  forgotten, 
only  to  be  revived,  for  the  matter  —  like  Banquo's 
ghost  —  would  not  down.  A  royal  road  to  the 
West  was  the  coming  need,  and  in  1851  the  work 
was  begun.  The  State  appropriated  $2,000,000, 
but  the  actual  expense  was  ten  times  that  amount, 


I 

DEPARTURE  9 

besides  the  cost  of  many  brave  souls  who  here 
found  sepulchre. 

After  bustling,  noisy  North  Adams,  with  its 
ever  clanging  bells,  has  been  left  behind,  the 
silence  of  slumber  reigns  in  our  narrow  borders, 
while  with  ever  increasing  pace  we  speed  onwards, 
finding  ourselves  at  early  dawn,  or  late  starlight, 
in  the  region  between  Syracuse  and  pretty  Roch 
ester,  a  country  whose  lazy  canal-boats  mock  the 
demands  of  our  modern  commerce,  and  where  the 
sun  rises  gloriously  in  the  northwest,  or  so  it 
seemed  from  the  sightly  observatory  of  a  Pullman 
pillow. 

And  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first 
day  ! 


. 

IO  THE  ROUND    TRIP 


CHAPTER   II 

THROUGH    CANADA    TO    CHICAGO 

IT  has  been  said  that  the  Raymonds  always  give 
their  patrons  more  than  they  agree  to,  and 
therefore  their  California  excursionists  were  not 
surprised  on  the  second  day  out  to  be  taken 
through  London  and  Paris  before  proceeding  on 
their  American  tour.  But  travelling  in  foreign 
countries  has  its  disadvantages.  For  instance,  we 
are  nothing  if  not  literary.  Correspondence  with 
friends  at  home  is  a  trade  well  followed  in  our 
midst,  and  at  every  stopping  place  mail  boxes  are 
eagerly  sought  for,  in  which  to  deposit  these 
friendly  greetings.  At  Hamilton,  Canada,  a  most 
enticing  letter-box  was  seen,  and  a  lady  of  the 
party  who  shall  be  nameless,  was  delegated  to 
skip  across  the  intervening  tracks  with  a  freight 
of  postal  cards.  On  the  way  thither,  the  thought 
that  she  was  in  Canada  bid  her  pause,  but  recall 
ing  that  the  same  cards  when  mailed  in  Boston 
reached  Canada  in  safety  she  thought  it  a  poor 
rule  that  would  not  work  both  ways,  so  she 


THROUGH  CANADA    TO   CHICAGO  II 

slammed  the  iron  lid  sharply  down  on  the  van 
ished  treasures  only  to  hear  at  her  elbow: 

"They  won't  go  !  " 

"  Won't  go  ?     And  why  ?  " 

Explanations  followed,  and  at  this  juncture  a 
sleepy  Canadian  shuffled  up  and  offered  to  put 
extra  stamps  on  the  whole  batch  when  the  collec 
tor  should  arrive.  Gratefully,  the  lady  took  from 
her  nurse  some  brand  new  pennies,  bright  and 
glittering  as  gold  pieces,  but  the  man  removed 
neither  hand  from  his  pocket  to  receive  the  same. 
Then  she  tried  him  on  some  this-year  nickels,  but 
with  an  extra  puff  of  his  old  clay  pipe  he  grunted 
out : 

"They're  no  use  to  me." 

Growing  exasperated,  she  next  sought  for  dimes, 
ten  cent's  worth  of  pure  silver  the  world  over,  but 
the  provoking  individual  was  still  unmoved.  Here 
the  incensed  American  citizen  made  a  stand.  She 
assured  him  in  good  strong  English,  which  at  least 
he  did  have  the  grace  to  take,  that  his  miserable 
Canadian  dimes  were  in  very  bad  odor  with  us ; 
the  Post  Offices  wouldn't  take  them,  the  West  End 
conductors  refused  to  look  at  them,  and  that  her 
dimes  were  the  only  legitimate  dimes  in  good  and 
regular  standing,  but  just  here  the  courteous  agent 
of  the  party,  who  unlike  the  average  policeman, 
is  always  round  when  wanted,  appeared  on  the 
scene  and  straightened  out  the  matter  beautifully. 


I  2  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

At  twilight  of  our  long  Canadian  day  we  were 
ferried  across  the  St.  Clair  river  to  Michigan,  and 
the  stars  and  stripes  once  more  waved  over  the 
brave  and  the  free.  We  even  fancied  that  the 
American  bird  clapped  his  wings  and  crowed  with 
especial  zest  and  fervor  upon  our  entrance  next 
morning  into  boisterous,  rampant  Chicago. 

And  where  in  all  this  fair  land  is  there  anything 
just  like  Chicago — so  masterful,  rich  and  proud — 
the  young  Leviathan  of  the  West  ?  Rising  from 
her  cleansing  fires  in  massive,  stately  grandeur, 
she  uses  the  heroic  scale  of  measurement  in  her 
every  expression  of  life.  She  builds  her  ware 
houses  by  the  mile,  her  palaces  cover  leagues. 
She  is  already  making  confident  preparation,  to 
hold  here  the  World's  Fair  of  1892.  For,  she 
reasons,  what  would  the  trans-atlantic  visitor  know 
of  the  wondrous  length  and  breadth  of  our  coun 
try  if  he  landed  in  New  York,  and  saw  only  the 
Exposition  ? 

The  beautiful  Lincoln  Park,  with  its  Lake 
boulevard,  hopes  to  add  ere  that  date  still  another 
to  its  many  attractions  in  an  artificial  drive  across 
the  water,  800  feet  from  shore,  parallel  with  the 
Park.  Wealth  is  plentiful,  merchants  princely, 
and  Western  hearts  generous.  A  new  statue  was 
placed  in  the  Park,  a  week  ago,  a  bronze  figure  of 
De  La  Salle,  a  discoverer  of  hardly  less  note  than 
Columbus,  for  did  he  not  discover  Chicago  ?  It  is 


THROUGH  CANADA    TO    CHICAGO  13 

supposed  that  this  brave  French  explorer  was  the 
first  white  man  to  set  his  foot,  209  years  ago, 
upon  the  soil  now  covered  by  the  great  metropolis, 
or  in  the  Indian  village  which  then  occupied  its 
site. 

The  Park  visitor  can  hardly  fail  to  visit  the  tank 
of  sea-lions,  as  his  attention  is  drawn  thither  by 
the  constant,  hideous  barking  noise  with  which 
these  unpleasant,  slimy  creatures  seek  to  relieve 
their  rudimentary  minds.  One  cannot  help  the 
query  cui  bono  while  gazing  on  these  strange  use 
less  connecting  links  in  the  great  chain  of  life.  It 
is  as  if  Nature  paused,  in  sportive  mood,  while 
ascending  the  ladder  of  creation  to  use  up  waste 
material,  the  refuse  of  more  decided  types,  of  fish, 
and  dog  and  ape.  The  imprisoned  germ  of  a  soul 
which  vitalizes  the  shapeless  lump  we  call  sea-lion 
is  certainly  very  restive  under  its  present  imper 
fect  expression.  It  writhes  uncomfortably,  and 
yearns  impatiently  for  its  next  higher  transmigra 
tion,  which,  we  know,  will  surely  come. 

Chicago's  Public  Library  occupies  commodious 
quarters  on  the  top  floor  of  the  city's  magnificent 
Court  House,  with  many  stations  in  various  other 
districts.  The  streets  of  Chicago  are  noticeably 
more  uncleanly  and  filled  with  refuse  than  the 
thoroughfares  of  a  certain  thrifty  New  England 
city  we  could  mention,  but  the  visitor  who  dared 
to  comment  on  this  state  of  affairs  was  assured 


14  THE  ROUND  TRIP 

with  considerable  hauteur  that  there  is  so  much 
more  business  done  here  than  in  Boston  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  keep  the  streets  so  tidy. 
Dear,  insignificant  little  Boston  !  Though  so  far 
away,  we  love  her  still. 


ACROSS    THE  PLAINS   TO  SANTA   FE  15 


CHAPTER   III 

ACROSS  THE  PLAINS  TO  SANTA  FE 

FROM  Chicago,  our  course  lies  straight  as  the 
crow  flies  across  the  prairie  State  ot  Illinois 
and  through  its  acres  upon  acres  of  corn  fields,  to 
Rock  Island  and  the  Mississippi.  This  noble 
river,  broad,  placid  and  beautiful,  is  crossed  at  sun 
set,  while  it  still  reflects  the  sky's  warm  glow  in  its 
every  ripple.  Its  sister  river,  the  Missouri,  reach 
ed  at  daybreak  the  next  morning,  is  more  churlish. 
Yellow,  tawny  and  turbulent,  she  veils  her  unlove- 
liness  with  a  fog  so  dense  that  her  width  can  hardly 
be  discerned  from  the  height  of  the  bridge,  and 
Kansas  City  on  its  rugged  bluffs  is  entirely  blotted 
out.  Indeed  the  precipitous  heights  on  which  the 
place  seems  perched,  are  so  exaggerated  by  this 
deceptive  haze  that  we  now  credit  the  legend  of  a 
cow  who  here  fell  out  of  a  pasture  and  broke  her 
neck. 

From  this  point  onward  we  enter  upon  the  plains 
and  cross  many  leagues  of  level,  unfertile,  but  to 
unaccustomed  eyes,  most  interesting  stretch  of 
country.  Its  chief  vegetation  consists  of  clumps 


1 6  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

of  sage  brush  and  huge  cacti,  bristling  with  light 
yellow  blossoms,  its  chief  inhabitants  prairie-dogs, 
so-called,  though  the  term  seems  a  misnomer,  for 
the  little  creatures  hop  like  rabbits,  are  nearer  the 
color  of  rats,  and  not  so  large  as  a  gray-squirrel. 
The  little  conical-shaped  mounds  which  form  their 
dwellings  (though  hardly  higher  than  the  ant-hills 
in  this  strange  land),  form  prominent  features  in 
the  landscape,  showing  a  singular  absence  of  the 
sense  of  danger,  or  need  of  protection,  common  to 
all  animals  in  their  native  state. 

Herds  of  cattle  are  occasionally  seen,  though 
what  they  can  find  on  this  yellowish  grey  soil  by 
which  to  support  life  is  a  mystery.  That  some 
have  failed  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  bleached 
bones  and  skeletons  along  our  path  sadly  testify. 
A  stray  emigrant  train,  drawn  by  patient  oxen, 
threads  tediously  the  old  Indian  trail,  and  in  the 
distance,  on  our  Western  boundary,  is  a  back 
ground  of  snow-capped  mountains,  the  Spanish 
peaks,  the  Custar  range,  arid  at  Trinidad  the  adja 
cent  and  awe-inspiring  Fisher's  Peak.  It  seems  a 
few  rods  away,  but  we  are  assured  it  is  14  miles 
distant  by  actual  measurement,  such  is  the  decep 
tive  brilliancy  of  this  glorious  air.  We  are  fa 
vored  with  many  different  views  of  this  Gibraltar- 
like  fortress  as  we  skirt  its  borders,  and,  dividing 
our  attention  on  the  other  side  is  another  lofty 
eminence,  surmounted  by  a  monument,  and  known 


A  CX  OSS   THE  PLAINS   TO  SANTA   FE  I  7 

as  Simpson's  Rest,  for  here  one  of  the  old  pio 
neers  was  buried  at  his  earnest  request.  Later  in 
the  day,  we  approach  Wagon  Mound,  a  summit  of 
solid  rock,  up  which  the  American  soldiers  with 
ropes  once  dragged  their  provision  wagons  when 
surrounded  by  Mexicans,  only  to  meet  slow  starva 
tion,  surrender  and  pitiless  massacre.  Every 
point  of  interest  in  our  course  is  carefully  empha 
sized  by  our  ever  vigilant  porter,  who  seems  to  be 
a  walking  cyclopaedia  of  information,  whose  good 
nature  is  boundless,  and  whose  patience  threatens 
to  eclipse  that  of  Job,  for  did  that  ancient  worthy 
ever  stand  the  exacting  test  of  a  sleeping  car  ? 

Then,  leaving  these  heights,  we  ride  for  miles 
and  yet  other  miles,  without  a  tree  or  rock  in 
sight,  the  land  level  as  if  it  had  been  rolled,  until 
it  reaches  and  touches  the  distant  sky.  Just 
before  twilight  we  reach  Las  Vegas  Hot  Springs, 
and  here  we  become  still  further  the  recipients  of 
the  Raymond  generosity,  for  a  telegram  from 
Boston  directs  that  after  spending  a  few  hours  at 
the  Springs,  (to  test  the  boiling  waters  and  climb 
to  the  turret  of  the  pretty  hotel,  a  veritable  Hall 
of  Montezuma,  to  enjoy  the  charming  view),  we 
are  to  be  treated  to  a  side  trip  not  down  in  the 
bill,  and  move  on  during  the  night  to  Santa  Fe, 
that  we  may  spend  Sunday  in  that  quaint  old 
town,  the  oldest  in  the  country,  for  it  ante-dates 
St.  Augustine  by  some  years,  the  Spaniards  find- 


I  8  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

ing  a  settlement  here  in  1542,  and  calling  the 
people  pueblos,  or  villagers,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  native  tribes. 

Who  can  ever  forget  a  Sabbath  spent  in  Santa 
Fe  ?  Even  now  in  its  freshness  it  seems  like  an 
impossible  dream  of  the  middle  ages.  We  were 
first  invited  to  Fort  Marcy  at  9,  to  witness  Guard 
Mount  (whatever  that  is),  and  inspection  of  guns, 
the  soldier  who  owned  the  cleanest  one  being 
appointed  boss  of  the  squad  for  the  day.  (This  is 
not  a  strict  quotation  from  Hardee.)  A  very,  fine 
band  is  stationed  here,  and  gave  excellent  selec 
tions  of  sacred  music,  greatly  appreciated  by  their 
impromptu  audience. 

We  next  visit  the  Cathedral  at  the  hour  of  mass, 
feeling  as  if  we  belonged  to  another  race  than  that 
of  the  devout  worshippers  here  assembled,  while 
still  realizing  that  we  are  all  children  of  the  same 
Infinite  Father.  The  women  all  wore  black  shawls 
over  their  heads,  gathered  under  the  chin  with  a 
peculiar  grasp  of  the  left  hand.  We  then  seek 
the  little  Presbyterian  church  established  here 
and  attend  its  service,  after  which  we  stroll  about 
the  narrow  streets,  designed  only  for  donkey 
travel,  or  burros,  as  the  tough  little  creatures  are 
called,  these  primitive  thoroughfares  boasting  no 
sidewalks  but  are  lined  with  low  adobe  houses, 
whose  unattractive  exteriors  are  often  a  mask  to 
conceal  the  home  within,  the  pleasant  court-yard 


ACROSS   THE  PLAINS   TO  SANTA   FE  1 9 

with  its  verdure,  upon  which  the  living  rooms 
open.  We  look  up  occasionally  at  the  stars  and 
stripes  waving  over  the  fort  to  convince  ourselves 
that  the  Atlantic  does  not  roll  between  us  and 
home,  for  the  town  seems  like  a  leaf  from  old 
Spain,  certainly  like  nothing  American,  or  pro 
gressive. 

In  the  plaza,  a  park  in  the  centre  of  the  town, 
stands  a  monument  to  the  bravery  of  those  sol 
diers  who  fell  fighting  the  rebels,  the  only  inscrip 
tion  which  includes  that  word  "  rebel,"  in  the 
country. 

The  Ramona  school  for  the  education  of  Indian 
children,  under  the  auspices  of  the  A.  M.  A.,  is 
located  here,  as  also  a  governmental  school,  and 
the  University  of  New  Mexico.  The  Territorial 
Capitol  building  is  very  fine. 

But  the  most  interesting  thing  we  learned  at 
Santa  Fe  was  that  in  a  low  building  fronting  on 
the  plaza,  erected  in  1581,  Gen.  Lew  Wallace, 
for  some  time  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  penned 
his  famous  "Ben  Hur."  No  wonder  that  he  de 
scribed  Jerusalem  scenery  and  characteristics  so 
accurately,  for  its  every  quaint  and  ancient  feature 
here  abounds,  even  to  the  mountains  that  are 
round  about  Jerusalem,  surmounted  by  the  peak, 
12,000  feet  above  the  sea,  which  never,  in  winter 
or  in  summer,  doffs  its  eternal  crown  of  snow. 


20  THE  ROUND    TRIP 


CHAPTER   IV 

OVER    THE    DESERT    TO    PARADISE 

PASSING  from  New  Mexico  into  Arizona  dur 
ing  the  night,  the  tourist  opens  his  eyes 
when  the  next  morning  dawns,  upon  a  still  wider 
stretch  of  plains,  on  longer  areas  of  sterile  waste, 
until  he  feels  ready  to  exclaim  :  "  Is  there  no  end 
to  this  country  ?  "  And  yet  the  monotony  never 
becomes  wearisome  to  this  merry  party,  who  sel 
dom  fail  to  pour  tumultuously  out  onto  the  plat 
form  of  every  little  station  where  we  stop  to  take 
on  water  or  ice,  and  if  time  permits,  the  town  is 
invaded,  stores  visited,  shanties  inspected  that 
often  bear  signs  of  disproportionate  size,  labelled 
"Palace  Hotel,"  "  Big  Lunch,  5  cts.,"  or  "Aunt 
Hannah's  Pioneer  Store,"  this  proprietress  being, 
she  affirms,  a  Boston  lady,  who  having  kept  the 
store  53  years,  is  desirous  of  selling  out  and  re 
turning  to  her  native  city,  a  decision  of  which  our 
Eastern  capitalists  on  the  lookout  for  investments, 
should  become  cognizant.  Most  of  the  towns  in 
this  far  West  are  lighted  at  evening  by  electric 


OVER    THE  DESERT  TO  PARADISE  21 

lights,  they  have  cable,  or  electric  cars,  an  example 
which  some  Eastern  cities  have  since  followed. 

At  noon,  the  wild  Canon  Diablo  is  passed,  an 
utterly  barren  gorge  of  rocks  and  on  the  iron 
bridge  which  crosses  it,  the  train  pauses  a  little 
longer  than  some  weak  nerves  prefer  that  all  may 
inspect  this  natural  wonder.  And  now  the  San 
Francisco  mountains  rear  their  heads  across  our 
horizon,  and  the  scene  grows  wilder.  Flag-Staff 
is  passed  (so-called  because  on  an  adjacent  peak, 
Gen.  Fremont  hoisted  the  American  flag),  and 
here  also  is  a  quarry  of  red  stone  used  by  Los 
Angeles  builders.  Then  for  some  time  we  wind 
around  Williams'  Mountain,  a  grand  height,  with 
the  tombstone  to  the  old  pioneer  whose  name  it 
bears,  plainly  visible  on  its  summit,  and  just  before 
nightfall  we  thread  our  narrow,  tortuous  course 
around  Johnson's  canon,  a  dangerous  chasm,  whose 
precipitous  depths,  and  jagged  outlines,  as  viewed 
from  our  narrow  perch  on  the  mountain's  side,  we 
are  glad  to  leave  behind. 

"The  Needles,"  a  narrow  pass,  which  with  the 
Colorado  river  forms  the  boundary  line  between 
Arizona  and  California  are  passed  at  midnight, 
together  with  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Mojave 
desert,  but  there  is  desert  enough  to  hold  out  into 
another  day,  and  still  wider,  sandy,  barren,  alka 
line  plains  greet  our  waking  eyes,  salt  lying  in 
places  white  as  a  hoar  frost,  the  only  attempt  at 


22  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

vegetation  being  occasional  clumps  of  low  bushes 
of  dusty-miller  white,  and  others  of  a  waxy  livid 
green,  forming  a  most  effective  contrast.  Beauty 
never  forgets  her  earth-child  anywhere,  under  any 
circumstances.  But  in  the  desert,  we  sympathize 
with  the  pauper  child  who  exclaimed  on  first  view 
ing  the  ocean  :  "  I  niver  saw  enough  of  anything 
at  onct,  before."  We  begin  to  speculate  as  to  the 
possibility  of  a  terminus  to  this  road.  Two 
straight  parallel  lines,  we  recall,  never  meet  at  any 
given  point,  and  the  iron  rails  we  tread  are  of  this 
description. 

But  sterility  reigns  only  without.  Far  too  reg 
ularly  the  announcement  is  made  that  "  Lunch," 
or  "  Dinner  is  now  ready  in  the  dining-car  "  ;  a 
summons  often  greeted  with  a  look  of  comical 
dismay  that  expresses :  "  have  we  got  to  go 
through  that  ordeal  so  soon  again  ?"  For  the  pre 
siding  genii  of  that  dining-car  might  well  be 
arrested  for  cruelty  to  animals,  so  abundantly  do 
they  provide  the  choicest  viands  to  this  indolent, 
un-exercised,  over-fed,  pampered  freight  of  live 
stock. 

At  noon  we  begin  our  ascent  of  the  Sierra 
Madre  range  of  mountains,  rising  215  feet  to  the 
mile  amid  the  sublimest  scenery  on  every  side, 
until  we  reach  at  the  summit,  Cajone  Pass,  which 
is  grand  beyond  description,  and  begin  our  descent 
toward  the  San  Bernardino  valley,  or  as  some  one 


OVER    THE   DESERT  TO   PARADISE  23 

calls  it — God's  own  country.  As  we  proceed,  new 
growths  excite  our  surprise  and  wonder ;  yucca 
palms  as  large  as  good-sized  apple  trees,  the 
prickly-pear  cactus  of  immense  size,  bearing  a 
fruitage  of  pears,  which  are  here  sent  to  market ; 
later  on,  as  we  approach  civilization,  plumes  of 
pampas-grass,  century  plants  that  have  blossomed 
and  still  bear  aloft  their  huge  crests,  60  to  80  feet 
high,  with  many  new  flowers  and  plants  whose 
names  we  have  yet  to  learn. 

Speculation  has  been  rife  all  day  as  to  what  time 
we  shall  "get  in,"  as  if  we  were  on  shipboard 
in  a  trackless  waste  of  water,  instead  of  an  ocean 
of  land ;  the  passage  of  an  eastward-bound  over 
land  train  is  calculated  upon,  as  to  what  time 
it  left  Los  Angeles,  and  now  the  hour  of  separa 
tion  for  this  jolly  family  approaches.  Maps  and 
chattels  are  collected,  autographs  exchanged,  fare 
wells  are  waved  to  a  carload  of  tourists  that  leaves 
us  for  the  Redlands,  a  fruit-bearing  district,  of 
whose  fertility  and  rapid  growth  we  have  heard 
such  glowing  accounts  from  some  of  its  residents, 
our  pleasant  travelling  companions,  most  of  them 
New  England  people  of  sterling  worth  ;  we  also 
take  leave  of  another  coterie,  who  branch  off  into 
the  Pomona  valley,  and  at  dusk,  we  too  alight  upon 
"the  crown  of  all  the  valley,"  fair,  unrivalled 
Pasadena. 


24  THE  ROUND    TRIP 


CHAPTER   V 

PASADENA 

/CALIFORNIA  is  not  all  a  Paradise,  for  we 
V-/  have  traversed  miles  of  dreary,  barren 
waste  within  her  borders,  but  if  there  is  an  Edenic 
garden  on  earth,  one  fit  for  the  occupancy  of  the 
primeval  pair,  that  spot  is  Pasadena.  It  is  true 
we  know  not  what  awaits  us  in  other  portions  of 
this  Golden  State,  but  we  are  constantly  meeting 
people  who  having  tried  a  residence  in  all  other 
localities,  return  delightedly  to  this  beautiful  San 
Gabriel  valley. 

Along  its  northern  borders  stretches  the  Sierra 
Madre  range  of  mountains,  a  barrier  that  effectu 
ally  protects  the  city  nestling  at  its  feet  from 
every  rude,  cold  blast,  and  adds  to  it  yet  another 
blessing,  that  of  pure  water,  the  principal  supply 
coming  from  Devil's  Gate,  though  one  would 
naturally  look  for  fire  from  this  source  rather  than 
cooling  springs.  The  charm  also  of  grandeur  and 
sublimity,  Pasadena  by  this  proximity,  does  not 
lack.  With  David,  we  "lift  our  eyes  unto  the 
hills,"  for  we  cannot  help  it.  They  entice  us, 
they  appal  us,  they  command  our  reverence,  they 


PASADENA  25 

invite  our  ever  changing  admiration  by  their  shift 
ing  phases.  Severe  in  outline,  seamed  with 
gorges,  and  chasms,  producing  thus  a  strange 
wrinkled  effect  as  if  some  Titan  hand  held  aloft  a 
vast  drapery  that  thence  fell  naturally  in  seam, 
and  crease,  and  fold ;  almost  barren  of  vegetation, 
seemingly  unwooded,  though  we  are  assured  that 
impenetrable  forests  exist  in  some  of  their  wild 
est  depths,  but  in  compensation  for  this  softening 
charm  of  New  England  hills,  the  loftier  Sierras 
veil  themselves  in  shadowy  mists  and  vapors,  they 
play  hide  seek  with  fleecy  clouds,  that  drift  across 
their  breasts  and  lurk  in  their  deep  valleys,  while 
still  rearing  aloft  their  hoary  heads  into  the  clear 
blue  ether  which  envelopes  them  with  a  light  that 
was  never  seen  before  on  sea  or  land,  while 
grander  than  all,  old  "  Baldy  "  smiles  down  on  the 
fertile  valley  from  his  realm  of  snow.  Cruel 
mothers  (madres),  these  jagged  peaks  have  proved 
to  many  venturesome  climbers,  nearly  a  dozen 
people  having  perished  here  in  the  last  three 
years,  in  sight  of  home,  being  lured  into  some 
chasm,  or  death-trap,  from  which  there  was  no 
escape. 

On  a  lofty  summit  of  the  range,  known  as 
Wilson's  Peak,  has  been  recently  established  the 
Southern  Pacific  Observatory,  for  which  Messrs. 
Alvan  Clark  and  Sons,  are  manufacturing  what  it 
is  expected  will  prove  the  largest  lens  in  the  world. 


26  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Sixteen  years  ago  last  summer  (in  1873),  a  little 
colony  from  Indiana  emigrated  westward  to  select 
a  location  for  a  new  home  in  the  then  barren  wilds 
of  California.  Arriving  in  Los  Angeles  in  August, 
they  thoroughly  examined  localities  in  San  Diego 
and  San  Bernardino  counties,  but  finally  selected 
the  present  site  of  Pasadena  as  offering  the 
greatest  advantages  of  soil,  water  and  scenery,  and 
the  world  now  applauds  the  wisdom  of  their  choice. 
But  when  our  pioneers  first  settled  here,  in  all  this 
region  now  teeming  with  fertility  and  luxuriance 
of  fruitful  growth  on  every  hand,  not  a  tree  exist 
ed,  save  two  or  three  live-oaks,  and  the  whole 
plateau  was  one  sheet  of  flame  under  the  reign  of 
the  golden  poppy,  so  common  in  California. 

When  a  name  for  the  little  colony  was  sought, 
that  of  Indianola  was  discussed  as  indicative  of  its 
origin,  but  to  the  late  Dr.  T.  B.  Elliot  is  due  the 
suggestion  of  Pasadena,  an  Iroquois  word  signify 
ing  the  "Crown  of  the  Valley,"  a  title  which  by 
every  right  it  holds. 

With  a  rapidity  of  cultivation  almost  incredible 
to  Eastern  experience,  the  town  is  now  one  vast 
garden  and  orange  grove,  though  this  latter  desig 
nation  seems  to  us  a  misnomer.  A  "grove"  to 
New  England  ears  suggests  a  spontaneous  growth 
of  tallish  trees  which  cast  a  shade  upon  the  green 
sward,  or  tangled  underbrush  beneath.  There  is 
no  shade  in  an  orange  orchard,  and  if  there  were, 


it 
LSiTY 

[& 

27 


we  could  not  walk  therein,  for  no  grass  is  allowed 
to  grow,  as  in  our  apple  orchards.  The  ground  is 
kept  constantly  plowed  and  irrigated.  The  trees, 
set  twenty  to  thirty  feet  apart,  diamond-wise,  are 
short  and  bushy,  and  very  handsome.  Their 
foliage  of  dark  rich  glossy  green  is  tipped  on  all 
out-lying  branches  with  a  new  growth  of  lightest 
marine  green,  producing  a  weird  effect  of  contrast, 
and  on  these  showy  banners,  white  fragrant 
blossoms  appear,  while  at  the  same  time,  hanging 
thickly  in  the  dense  heart  of  the  tree  is  the  golden 
ripening  fruit,  making  one  of  the  most  beautiful, 
picturesque  objects  that  Nature,  even  in  this  her 
most  lavish  workshop,  can  produce. 

The  eucalyptus  tree,  a  native  of  Australia, 
abounds  here,  and  is  a  rapid  grower,  although  it 
reveals  much  indecision  of  purpose,  as  to  whether 
it  will  prove  itself  first  cousin  to  the  willow  or 
the  poplar,  two  and  often  three  distinct  types  of 
leaves,  in  shape  and  color,  appearing  on  the  same 
tree.  It  invariably  begins  existence  in  a  different 
frame  of  mind  from  that  which  maturer  reflection 
dictates. 

And  who  sfrall  describe  that  graceful,  airy 
growth,  that  sensitive  plant  aspiring  skyward, 
known  as  the  pepper-tree  ?  Each  leaf  a  pendant 
fern,  of  the  most  delicate  spring  green,  massed  to 
gether  in  luxuriant  clusters,  and  drooping  a  little 
like  the  weeping-willow  though  not  so  much,  while 


28  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

hanging  from  every  finger-tip  are  long  graceful 
racemes  of  small  crimson  berries,  of  green  ones 
just  forming,  or  of  delicate  sprays  of  greenish- 
white  blossoms,  all  on  dress-parade  at  once,  and 
emitting  a  spicy,  pungent  odor  that  makes  a  walk 
beneath  their  shade  most  agreeable.  Marengo 
avenue  in  this  city,  as  well  as  many  other  pleasant 
drives,  are  lined  with  these  beautiful  pepper-trees 
of  such  advanced  growth  that  their  branches  meet 
in  a  graceful  arch  over  the  street,  which  forms 
a  vista  in  perspective  almost  too  weird  in  its  love 
liness  to  belong  to  this  mundane  sphere. 

Miles  of  low  cypress  hedge,  that  lends  itself  so 
readily  to  any  device  of  the  pruner's  knife,  to 
arches,  gateposts  surmounted  by  urns,  vases,  or 
baskets  with  graceful  handles,  adorn  or  enclose 
handsome  residences  everywhere.  And  of  the 
flowers  one  hesitates  to  speak  unless  the  pen 
could  be  dipped  in  rainbow  dye.  Climatic  con 
ditions  being  here  so  perfect  and  so  exceptional, 
only  the  lightest  frost  two  or  three  times  a  year 
being  ever  experienced,  no  fires  necessary  in  an 
ordinary  season,  even  at  Christmas,  open  doors 
and  seats  on  the  veranda  being  enjoyable  save  at 
evening  or  early  morn,  plants  of  all  kinds  have 
nothing  else  to  do  but  grow  without  ceasing, 
missing  thus  the  customary  experience  of  their 
Eastern  sisters  who  are  seized  by  the  nape  of  their 
slender  necks  just  as  they  get  into  the  mood  of 


PASADENA  — ITS  ENVIRONS  2$ 

growing  and  are  hustled  into  a  close  room,  stifled 
with  foul  gas,  and  often  sit  with  their  feet  in  cold 
water  eight  months  out  of  twelve.  It  is  a  wonder 
that  they  ever  reward  us  with  fragrant  blossoms. 
Growing  on  then,  year  after  year,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  geraniums  and  rosebushes  here  become  trees 
bristling  with  brilliant  petals,  that  fuschias  and 
lantanas  grow  beyond  recognition,  that  arbutilons 
above  our  heads  swing  their  myriad  bright  bells 
upon  the  air,  that  smilax  spontaneously  reaches 
the  eaves,  that  ivy-geraniums  cover  stone  walls, 
arbors,  anything  their  delicate  fingers  can  twine 
around,  that  heliotropes  grow  trunks  that  bid  fair 
to  rival  that  of  an  elephant,  that  dense  flower- 
crowned  hedges  of  callas  mark  boundary  lines, 
that — that — in  short,  that  Nature  having  lost  all 
run  of  seasons,  and  her  usual  methodical  habits  of 
alternate  rest  and  action,  runs  madly  riot,  being 
drunken  with  new  wine — the  wine  of  the  elixir  of 
life. 


30  THE   ROUND    TRIP 


CHAPTER   VI 

PASADENA ITS    ENVIRONS 

THE  chief  criticism  we  have  heard  of  Pasadena 
is  that  there  is  not  enough  of  it.  But  we 
have  found  it  too  wide  in  extent,  its  attractions 
too  numerous  to  speedily  exhaust.  Day  after  day 
we  thread  its  thoroughfares,  or  take  its  intersect 
ing  lines  of  horse  or  mule  cars  ;  we  drive  into  the 
adjoining  country,  but  our  list  of  unvisited  lions  is 
still  a  long  one.  We  make  no  allowance  in  our 
delightful  excursions  for  unfavorable  weather, 
since  day  after  day  the  sky  is  as  clear  as  if  it  had 
been  swept,  the  sun  warm  as  June,  making  out 
side  wraps  unnecessary,  and  yet  while  basking  in 
this  sunshine  which  knows  no  shadow,  Pasadena 
reports  no  case  of  'sunstroke,  no  mad-dogs,  or 
thunder  showers.  Its  people  are  mostly  of  East 
ern  birth  and  thence,  it  goes  without  saying,  most  in 
telligent,  while  possessing  that  warm,  open-hearted 
cordiality  so  characteristic  of  this  genial  clime,  a 
spirit  too  often  crowded  out  by  the  nervous  ten 
sion  of  our  own  work-a-day  atmosphere. 

One  of  the  first  out-lying  attractions  to  command 
our  attention  is  naturally  "The  Raymond,"  and 


PASADENA— ITS  ENVIRONS  31 

one  uses  the  word  "command  "  advisedly,  for  it  is 
like  a  city  set  upon  a  hill ;  it  cannot  be  hid,  cannot 
be  forgotten,  as  its  fine  proportions  are  always  in 
sight  from  any  point.  Built  upon  a  bold  promon 
tory,  evidently  designed  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world  for  its  occupancy,  an  exhilarating  climb 
or  winding  drive  brings  us  to  its,  at  present,  inhos 
pitable  doors,  for  this  grand  hotel  does  not  open 
until  late  in  November,  but  its  wide  verandas,  glist 
ening  in  their  spic-and-span  attire  of  new  paint  in 
vite  the  promenader  to  enjoy  a  view  from  every  side 
which  can  hardly  be  surpassed  in  any  land.  And 
when  surfeited  with  the  grandeur  that  is  remote, 
with  the  charm  of  rugged  mountain  and  fertile 
valley,  one  turns  enraptured  to  the  beauty  that  is 
near  at  hand,  for  surrounding  the  hotel  is  a  broad 
esplanade  bordered  with  perpetually  blooming 
flowers,  with  clambering  vines  that  embower  the 
entrances,  with  strange  new  foliage  exciting  fresh 
wonder  and  inquiry,  until  the  luxuriance  of  this 
encircling  garden  ripples  over  its  boundaries  and 
runs  down  every  path  and  avenue  and  rolling  lawn 
of  this  green  hillside.  The  goddess,  Flora,  holds 
royal  court  on  this  noble  crest,  and  she  drapes  her 
myriad  retinue  with  a  thousand  glorious  dyes. 
Brilliancy,  color  and  fragrance  are  everywhere  at 
high  tide. 

Extending  our  drive  beyond  "  The  Raymond," 
through  fertile  ranches,  given  largely  to  orange, 


32  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

lemon  and  grape  culture,  the  grapes  being  grown 
in  European  fashion,  untrellised,  and  trimmed 
close  to  the  ground,  we  soon  reach  the  quiet  little 
town  of  Alhambra,  whence  through  a  level  avenue 
whose  wide-reaching  orange  groves  are  fringed 
with  waving  pepper  trees,  we  pass  on  through  an 
almost  dry  river  bed  to  the  old  San  Gabriel  Mis 
sion,  the  fourth  established  in  Upper  California 
(in  177 1 )  by  the  Franciscan  fathers,  when  banished 
from  Spanish  provinces.  The  present  building, 
the  third  one  erected  here,  is  a  long  narrow  struc 
ture  of  massive  stone  walls  adobe-covered,  with 
ten  buttresses  of  brick,  being  intended  for  defense 
as  well  as  worship,  with  a  quaint  bell-tower,  and 
stairway  of  brick  on  the  outside  leading  to  the 
choir  gallery.  The  windows  are  few  and  small, 
and  placed  very  near  the  roof.  An  unlaundered, 
but  very  intelligent  priest  showed  us  through  the 
interior  which  is  adorned  with  full  length  portraits 
of  the  apostles,  "  genuine  Murillos  "  (so  he  said), 
every  one  of  them,  painted  by  the  artist  as  models, 
not  as  church  property,  and  donated  from  the 
royal  galleries  at  Madrid  by  Ferdinand  and  Isa 
bella,  (though  not  delivered  till  the  reign  of  Charles 
V.),  for  the  express  purpose  of  assisting  in  the  con 
version  of  the  wild  Indian  tribes  through  object 
lessons  that  could  appeal  to  the  eye. 

The  little  Mexican  village  of  San  Gabriel  is  a 
most  uncanny  place.     One  breathes  more  freely 


PASADENA-  ITS  ENVIRONS  33 

when  its  one  narrow  street  with  its  encroaching 
low  adobe  huts,  has  been  passed.  Its  swarthy  in 
habitants  have  no  vocabulary  in  common  with  our 
own  save  the  one  word  "  Meeshun,"  and  a  twitch  of 
the  arm  in  the  right  direction.  We  know  they 
are  the  very  same  who  helped  to  fell  the  timber 
when  the  sanctuary  was  built,  for  nothing  ever 
could  change  here.  The  place  was  born  old,  so 
old  that  Cain  might  have  found  his  wife  in  this 
locality. 

A  most  interesting  place  to  visit,  at  the  other 
side  of  Pasadena,  is  the  Ostrich  farm,  this  "  hand 
some  "  climate  proving  favorable  to  their  success 
ful  culture.  Three  birds  have  been  raised  here 
from  babyhood  that  are  now  fourteen  months  old 
and  seven  or  eight  feet  high  ;  the  rest  of  the 
brood  are  Australian  emigrants  and  can  rest  their 
chins  on  a  nine  foot  pole,  although  but  four  years 
old,  and  no  ostrich  reaches  his  full  growth  till  he 
attains  the  age  of  seven  years.  Strange  ballet- 
dancer  kind  of  a  bird,  as  awkward  in  pose  as  a 
novice  in  her  first  tights,  and  yet  moving  with  a 
certain  majestic  dignity  of  bearing  that  is  "very 
like  "  a  camel.  The  carriage  of  the  long  ungainly 
neck  also,  and  the  construction  of  the  foot  reveals 
this  early  companionship  of  the  desert.  How  in 
teresting  are  these  connecting  links  in  the  great 
chain  of  life,  links  forged  by  the  marvellous  wis 
dom  and  diversity  of  the  Creative  Mind. 


34  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

The  ostrich  has  a  clear  liquid  dark  eye,  as  large 
as  a  calf's  though  with  far  more  expression,  which 
displays  a  peculiar  scintillating  flash ;  he  has  a 
broad  flat  head,  a  beak  of  generous  proportions, 
short  tongue  and  no  teeth,  and  when  a  dozen  pair 
of  these  piercing  eyes,  from  the  top  of  long,  sway 
ing,  animated  lamp-wicks  hover  in  the  air  above 
and  around  you,  or  examine  your  hat-trimming  as 
well  as  your  hands  for  stray  kernels  of  corn,  the 
effect  is  rather  startling.  It  is  likewise  most  amus 
ing  to  see  them  fill  their  mouths  with  water  from 
the  tank,  then  slowly  raise  their  heads  to  allow  it  to 
run  down  the  yard  or  more  of  gullet,  its  passage 
being  plainly  visible  to  the  attentive  observer. 
What  would  not  the  gourmand  give  for  an  organ 
of  taste  thus  elongated  ? 

Feeling  doubtless  that  they  were  on  exhibition, 
with  their  reputation  at  stake,  a  few  of  the  birds 
showed  their  paces,  flapped  their  wings,  and  exe 
cuted  a  pas  seul,  with  a  strange  mixture  of  awk 
wardness  and  grace  that  was  suggestive  of  nothing 
more  than  Dixie  as  "The  Flower  Girl." 

The  kindly  old  gentleman  who  has  the  troupe  in 
charge  gave  much  valuable  information  concern 
ing  the  birds,  and  corrected  many  mistaken 
opinions  regarding  them.  They  are  plucked  of 
their  feathers  about  twice  a  year,  or  once  in  seven 
months,  they  lay  about  ten  or  twelve  eggs  in  a 
season,  which  are  invariably  hatched  by  the  sun 


PASADENA  — ITS  ENVIRONS  35 

shining  upon  their  sand  covered  nests,  as  the  birds 
rarely  sit  upon  them.  They  are  moreover,  staunch 
metaphysicians,  for  they  are  never  ill,  and  no 
disease  ever  attacks  them.  Their  only  weakness 
is  a  sensible  preference  for  hot  weather.  If  ex 
posed  to  cold,  they  are  simply  found  dead  the  next 
morning.  They  make  no  fuss  about  it,  but  quietly 
step  out  in  search  of  a  warmer  clime. 

No  letter  from  Pasadena  ever  omits  to  extol  this 
locality  as  a  health  resort.  The  present  notice 
must  therefore  remain  incomplete,  for  we  who  are 
enfranchised  from  bondage  to  the  flesh,  whose 
real  habitat  is  the  realm  of  spirit,  recognize  no 
East  or  West,  no  favorable  or  unfavorable  physical 
conditions,  being  freed  therefrom,  and  dwelling,  in 
any  land,  "forever  with  the  Lord"  of  all  health 
and  wholeness. 


36  THE  ROUND  TRIP 


CHAPTER  VII 

LOS  ANGELES SANTA  MONICA 

IN  the  early  and  prosperous  days  of  the  Spanish 
Mission  in  California,  soldiers  were  stationed 
at  the  various  sanctuaries  whose  service  it  was  to 
forcibly  capture  converts  from  the  native  tribes 
and  awe  them  into  submission,  indeed  it  is  re 
corded  of  one  worthy  father,  who  was  very  skillful 
in  the  use  of  the  lasso,  that  "  riding  at  full  gallop 
into  an  Indian  village,  he  would  select  his  man  as 
a  slave-driver  would  his  human  chattel,  he  would 
lasso  him,  drag  him  to  the  Mission,  tie  him  up  and 
whip  him  into  subjection,  baptize  him,  Christianize 
him  (?)  and  set  him  to  work,  all  within  the  space 
of  one  hour  ;  then  away  for  another,  without  rest, 
such  was  his  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  infidels''1 

What  wonder  that  such  "conversions"  resulted 
in  the  degradation  and  ultimate  extinction  of  these 
tribes,  for,  savage  foes  as  they  proved  to  other 
assailants,  they  strangely  enough  made  little  re 
sistance  to  these  peremptory  measures  of  the  holy 
fathers.  Superstition  holds  such  potent  sway  over 
the  untutored  mind. 


LOS  ANGELES— SANTA   MONICA.  37 

Eventually  it  became  necessary  to  provide  some 
place  of  residence  where  the  Mission  soldiers  who 
had  so  valiantly  served  their  time,  and  who  still 
desired  to  remain  in  this  country,  might  retire 
with  their  families.  For  this  purpose  an  order 
dated  at  San  Gabriel  Mission,  August  26,  1781, 
was  issued  by  the  Governor  of  California —  Felipe 
de  Neve  —  directing  the  establishment  of  a  pueblo, 
or  town,  upon  the  site  lately  occupied  by  the 
Indian  village,  Yang-na.  This  new  town  was  to 
be  under  the  especial  patronage  and  fostering  pro 
tection  of  "  Our  Lady,  the  Queen  of  the  Angels," 
and  to  be  known  by  her  name,  La  Pueblo  de  la 
Reina  de  los  Angeles,  a  title  since  shortened  to 
the  City  of  the  Angels,  or  Los  Angeles. 

Situated  in  a  level  plain  of  wide  extent,  with 
high  mountain  ranges  at  her  back,  and  an  ocean  at 
her  feet,  while  on  either  hand  stretches  the  most 
extensive  fruit-bearing  country  in  the  world,  how 
could  this  fair  city  fail  to  thrive  and  flourish  and 
grow  as  if  indeed  all  good  angels  smiled  upon  her? 
She  numbers  to-day  80,000  inhabitants,  and  her 
miles  of  broad  level  avenues  are  filled  with  fine 
buildings  and  noble  residences  that  might  serve 
as  architectural  models,  including  a  City  Hall  and 
Post  Office  of  which  she  may  well  be  proud  ;  they 
abound  with  granite  blocks,  hotels  and  stores 
stocked  as  choicely  as  the  emporiums  of  our 
Eastern  merchants,  indeed  we  have  seldom  visited 


38  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

a  more  enterprising,  stirring,  energetic,  and  wide 
awake  city.  It  seems  destined  to  become  the 
second  metropolis  of  this  extensive  coast,  and 
being  situated  500  miles  nearer  the  tropics  than 
San  Francisco,  in  a  climate  and  amid  natural  sur 
roundings  that  are  faultless,  it  must  remain  a 
favorite  place  of  residence. 

It  uses  the  adjacent  port  of  San  Pedro  for  its 
already  extensive  commerce  with  Alaska,  Mexico, 
and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  but  a  favorite  beach- 
resort,  thirteen  miles  distant,  is  Santa  Monica, 
where  an  enjoyable  day  can  be  spent.  It  was 
here  that  we  first  sighted  the  broad  Pacific. 
Balboa  must  look  to  his  laurels,  we  too  have 
discovered  it.  And  it  is  like  the  Atlantic 
as  are  two  halves  of  an  orange.  There  is 
the  same  uneasy  restlessness,  and  tumultuous 
heaving  and  throbbing  of  its  mighty  heart,  the 
same  ceaseless  moan  and  sob  and  wail,  the 
embodiment  of  everything  that  is  sad,  dreary, 
cruel,  and  pitiless,  its  miserere  possibly  for  the 
many  brave  souls  it  has  dragged  down  and 
crushed  with  greedy  embrace.  Obedient  to  the 
same  attractions,  paying  court  to  the  same  fickle 
lunar  dame,  whether  in  coquettish  mood  she 
veils  her  face  or  illuminates  these  watery  depths 
with  the  broad  fulness  of  her  radiant  beams,  the 
Pacific,  like  her  ocean  twin,  beats  time  in  regular 
rhythm  to  the  anthem  of  the  universe,  with  her 


LOS  ANGELES— SANTA  MONICA  39 

advancing  and  retreating  tides  that  roll  in  white- 
teethed  breakers  on  the  same  sandy  floor,  or  chase 
the  receding  feet  that  venture  too  boldly  upon 
their  domain. 

But  looking  landward  we  at  last  mark  a  dif 
ference.  The  Nantaskets  and  Reveres  of  our 
Atlantic  coast  boast  no  mountains  like  this 
Santa  Monica  range  which  runs  down  one  arm  of 
the  little  bay  quite  to  the  water's  edge.  Their 
sweet  breath  likewise  fills  all  the  air.  The  briny, 
fishy  odor  which  our  olfactories  can  recall  is  to 
a  landsman  most  blessedly  conspicuous  by  its 
absence.  The  usual  barren  waste  of  beach-resorts, 
their  scanty  verdure,  the  puny  spindling  trees 
that  struggle  bravely  to  eke  out  a  half-existence 
are  here  replaced  by  an  adjacent  garden  whose 
boundary  hedges  are  a  thick  mass  of  blooming 
Marguerites,  whose  taller  growths  are  date-palms, 
banana  trees,  and  magnolias  bearing  their  huge 
white  waxen  flowers  upturned  to  the  sun,  inviting 
the  bees,  the  butterflies,  and  humming-birds  to 
bathe,  at  will,  in  their  chalices  of  fragrant  nectar. 

Shells  of  new  varieties  abound  here,  and  there 
is  one  other  oddity  noticeable.  Old  Sol  has  lost 
his  bearings,  like  everything  else,  in  this  land  of 
topsy-turvy.  We  have  been  accustomed,  in  re 
garding  the  ocean  at  mid-day,  to  have  the  sun  and 
the  long  lane  of  light  which  he  casts  upon  the 
wave,  and  which  every  separate  ripple  delights  to 


4O  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

catch  a  little  of  and  run  away  with,  on  our  right 
hand.  Here  he  had  the  effrontery,  as  we  face  the 
Pacific,  to  offend  our  sense  of  fitness  by  pouring 
forth  all  his  glory  upon  our  left  hand,  and  seems 
to  guide  his  course  directly  toward  the  East.  If 
we  turn  about  and  get  him  in  the  right  quarter  of 
the  heavens,  the  ocean  is  behind  us  ;  our  mariner's 
compass  is  de-polarized,  and  at  last  we  realize  that 
we  have  indeed  crossed  the  continent. 

The  little  town  of  Santa  Monica  close  by,  boasts 
a  pleasant  park,  an  extensive  ostrich  farm,  and 
three  miles  away  in  a  verdant  plain,  occupying 
three  spacious  red-roofed  buildings,  is  the  Soldiers' 
Home,  whose  inmates  have  so  dearly  bought  the 
comforts  they  now  enjoy.  A  farmer  whom  we 
pass  is  ploughing  with  three  mules  abreast,  a  large 
blue  heron  flies  startled  from  a  reedy  swamp, 
strange  looking  creature  with  his  long  legs  and 
bill  to  float  in  the  air,  other  unfamiliar  voices  war 
ble  in  our  ears,  mocking-birds  call  to  us  from 
their  leaf -embowered  nests,  while  warm,  fragrance- 
laden  breezes  efface  the  memory  of  bare,  leafless 
trees  and  chilling  blasts  which  we  have  known 
at  this  season.  In  this  land  "  where  everlasting 
spring  abides,  and  never-fading  flowers,"  we  won 
der  if  indeed  it  can  be  November  anywhere. 


SANTA   BARBARA  4! 


CHAPTER   VIII 

SANTA    BARBARA 

FROM  earliest  childhood  the  praises  of  Santa 
Barbara,  more  than  of  any  other  spot  in 
California  have  been  chanted  in  our  ears  ;  it  has 
been  pictured  as  the  most  favored  haunt  of  Flora 
and  Pomona,  the  chosen  resort  of  poet  and  artist 
who  find  in  its  golden,  dolce  far  niente  atmosphere 
that  inspiration  sought  in  vain  in  harsher  climes. 
It  has  offered  health  to  the  invalid,  peace  to  the 
restless  and  broken  in  spirit,  wealth  to  the  in 
vestor,  a  perpetual  delight  to  the  visiting  traveller, 
such  as  no  other  locality  can,  because  forsooth, 
there  is  but  one  Santa  Barbara  in  the  world.  Ex 
travagant  anticipations  are  rarely  realized.  Per 
haps  we  had  expected  too  much,  or  it  was  unfor 
tunate  that  we  did  not  visit  this  spot  prior  to  our 
acquaintance  with  Pasadena,  the  contrast  to  that 
city's  immaculate  neatness  and  lavish  cultivation 
being  here  so  marked. 

Yet  charms  Santa  Barbara  undoubtedly  pos 
sesses  of  a  very  high  order.  Its  climate  is  perhaps 
without  a  parallel.  Unlike  many  other  southern 


42  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

resorts  which  omit  winter  from  their  calendar,  it 
omits  summer  also,  so  that  there  is  almost  no 
change  of  seasons.  Its  placid  resident  does  not 
spend  six  months  of  every  year  in  preparing  for 
the  remaining  semester,  as  in  less  favored  New 
England.  He  knows  neither  torrid  days  nor  frigid 
nights  ;  the  wear  and  tear  of  life  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum,  likewise  it  would  seem  its  zest  and  high 
est  achievement.  Mercury  seldom  ranges  higher 
than  our  average  summer  days,  and  never  drops  to 
the  freezing  point.  The  most  tender  flowers  bloom 
perpetually,  unless  forced  to  rest  by  being  de 
prived  of  irrigation.  Fruits  of  all  kinds  are  always 
ripe.  Strawberry  short-cake  was  served  in  the 
waning  days  of  November,  also  green  peas,  and 
tomatoes  from  a  plant  seven  years  old,  that  had 
borne  continually.  Oh  yes,  a  climate  that  can 
lead  the  world  we  cheerfully  concede  to  Santa 
Barbara. 

It  is  also  "beautiful  for  situation,"  covering  the 
pleasant  slope  from  the  base  of  the  Santa  Ynez 
mountains,  which  form  its  picturesque  background, 
down  to  the  lovely  Bay,  not  unlike  the  Bay  of 
Naples  in  contour,  whose  misty  horizon  line  is 
broken  twenty  miles  away  by  three  verdant  islands, 
one  of  them  being  used  as  a  ranch  by  the  largest 
sheep  owners  in  the  world.  There  is  also  here  a 
pretty  curving  beach,  too  rocky  however  for  com 
fortable  bathing,  with  a  swiftly-running  surf  that 


SANTA   BARBARA  43 

one  can  stand  to  his  heart's  content  to  enjoy,  but 
there  is  no  opportunity  to  sit  and  list  to  the  wild 
wave's  roar,  for  a  brief  moment.  No  hotel  is 
erected  within  sight  or  sound  of  the  beach,  no 
platform,  no  toboggan-slide,  not  even  a  pop-corn 
stand.  One  can  stand,  or  wade  in  the  deep  sand, 
and  then  walk  away  at  his  leisure.  Here  again  we 
heartily  wish  that  some  wiser  heads  than  our  own 
would  inform  us  why  the  air  of  this  coast  refuses  to 
hold  any  saline  particles  in  solution.  In  approach 
ing  the  Atlantic  shores  one  inhales  its  briny 
breath,  while  still  some  miles  inland.  Here,  with 
a  mighty  ocean  at  our  very  gates,  there  is  no  sug 
gestion  of  even  moisture  in  the  atmosphere,  and 
yet  its  breezes  must  temper  the  torrid  heats  we 
should  otherwise  expect  in  this  latitude. 

Santa  Barbara  is  a  city  of  one  street,  leading 
straight  as  an  arrow  from  the  terminus  of  its  long 
ocean  pier  (where  steamers  pause  daily  en  route  to 
San  Diego  or  San  Francisco),  for  two  miles  out 
toward  the  mesas,  or  foot  hills.  This  unshaded 
thoroughfare  has  a  fine  smooth  asphaltum  floor, 
making  a  pleasant  cleanly,  though  noisy  driveway, 
whose  borders  are  devoted  almost  wholly  to  busi 
ness.  Leading  from  this  main  street  are  short 
side  avenues  where  pretty  residences  abound, 
though  far  less  attention  is  paid  here  to  the  adorn 
ment  of  grounds  than  in  the  Eden  to  which  our 
eyes  have  been  recently  accustomed.  The  Arling- 


44  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

ton  sits  pleasantly  in  its  park  of  palms  and  flowers, 
and  at  one  private  residence  we  saw  ten  varieties 
of  the  passion-flower ;  at  another  twenty-two 
kinds  of  palm  trees.  Everything  is  possible  in  the 
way  of  floral  culture,  but  the  resident  seems  tired. 
This  place,  like  every  other  in  southern  Cali 
fornia,  has  had  its  boom,  and  energy  is  at  low  ebb 
under  the  collapse  of  Fortune's  bubble. 

Of  the  8000  inhabitants  which  Santa  Barbara 
boasts,  the  foreign  element  in  its  population  is,  at 
present,  very  large,  about  a  dozen  swarthy  Mexi 
can  faces  being  met  to  that  of  every  white  man. 
This  brings  a  rough,  rowdy,  surly  atmosphere  to 
the  promenade  most  unwelcome,  indeed  quite  un 
bearable  to  the  spiritually  sensitive.  In  fact,  here 
as  elsewhere  the  lady  pedestrian  is  the  observed 
of  all  observers.  Woman  usually  drives,  (a  span 
at  that),  and  like  Jehu  driveth  furiously,  or  she 
rides.  Equestrian  exercise,  for  both  sexes,  is  be 
gun  we  should  judge  at  the  tender  age  of  three 
years,  and  thereafter  steadily  followed  at  a  break 
neck  pace.  One  gentleman  here  owns  a  saddle 
upon  which  by  his  order  $4000  of  Mexican  coins 
has  been  affixed.  Single  equipages  are  the  excep 
tion  in  California.  Horses  must  be  more  plenty 
here  than  in  Mass.,  for  grocers,  butchers,  milk 
men,  even  the-  John  Chinamen,  in  collecting  for 
their  laundries,  almost  invariably  drive  a  span. 

The  old   Mission  Church  of  Santa  Barbara  is 


SANTA   BARBARA  45 

the  best  preserved  and  finest  of  its  kind  in  the 
country.  It  is  still  occupied  by  holy  padres  who 
hold  services  regularly.  Founded  as  it  was,  Dec. 
4,  1786,  which  happened  to  be  the  feast-day  of  the 
somewhat  obscure  saint  Barbara  (a  daughter  of 
Dioscurus,  in  ancient  Bithynia,  beheaded  by  her 
father  because  of  her  persistent  allegiance  to  the 
Christian  faith),  her  name  was  given  to  this  Mis 
sion  and  to  the  Presidio,  the  first  old  town,  or 
fortress,  which  was  1000  feet  square,  enclosed  by 
a  high  adobe  wall.  The  walls  of  the  church  are 
eight  feet  in  thickness,  and  we  heard  rumors  of  a 
garden  in  the  rear  of  the  sanctuary  to  which  the 
appreciative  eye  and  contaminating  presence  of 
woman  is  never  admitted.  There  is  also  a  cem 
etery,  originally  intended  for  the  burial  of  Indian 
converts.  The  Indian  population  was  once  very 
large  in  this  region,  and  no  locality  is  richer  in 
Indian  relics.  To  this  day  the  place  is  very 
slightly  tinctured  with  the  flavor  of  Uncle  Sam's 
dominions,  for  when  we  offered  to  a  fruit  dealer 
an  ordinary  one  dollar  greenback,  it  was  greeted 
with  shouts  of  merriment,  a  thorough  examination 
on  all  sides  of  the  paper  legal  tender,  with  an 
amused  estimate  of  how  long  a  time  had  elapsed 
since  the  recipient  had  seen  "  one  of  them  things 
afore." 

The   surrounding  views   are  very  fine,  and  to 
enjoy  one  of  the  loveliest  panoramas  this  mundane 


46  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

sphere  can  offer,  we  drove  to  the  hot  springs  seven 
miles  away,  situated  in  a  wild  precipitous  g6rge  of 
the  Santa  Ynez  range,  where  twenty-eight  springs 
gush  forth  from  the  face  of  perpendicular  sand 
stone  cliffs,  at  a  temperature  of  from  120  to  130 
Fahrenheit,  no  two  fonts  in  this  strange  laboratory 
of  Nature  being  impregnated  alike,  some  so  strong 
of  sulphur  as  to  be  yellow  in  tint,  while  others  are 
of  pure  arsenic.  Leaving  our  carriages  here,  we 
walk  thence  a  mile  or  more  to  the  summit  of 
Lookout,  or  Lone  Mountain,  by  a  narrow  trail 
whose  tangleil  undergrowth  is  the  southern-wood, 
or  the  "old  man"  of  our  country  gardens. 

We  reach  the  peak  suddenly  at  last  with  a 
surprise  that  no  exclamation  can  exhaust.  Before 
us  the  glassy  bay,  beyond  the  illimitable  depths  of 
the  broad,  calm  Pacific,  at  our  feet  and  on  either 
side  the  loveliest  of  valleys.  Santa  Barbara  on 
the  right  is  a  delight  to  the  eye,  while  on  our  left 
stretch  the  fertile  fields  of  Carpinteria,  and  of 
Montecito,  where  we  have  viewed  the  largest  grape 
vine  in  the  world  (measurements  become  tire 
some),  of  Summerland,  where  the  Spiritualists  of 
this  coast  have  founded  a  colony,  on  to  Buenaven 
tura,  where  was  established  a  still  earlier  Mission, 
while  behind  and  around  us  and  them  rise  a  suc 
cession  of  jagged  peaks,  that  make  of  our  own 
hardly-won  height,  a  pigmy  in  comparison.  We 
look  down  into  fruit  orchards,  into  acres  of  pampas- 


SANTA  BARBARA  47 

grass  whose  snowy  plumes  are  here  cultivated  for 
the  market,  we  trace  the  shining  rails  of  what 
seems  from  this  altitude  a  toy  railway  in  its  course 
along  the  beach  for  thirty  miles  ere  it  is  lost 
between  mountain  walls  in  its  five  hour's  search 
for  Los  Angeles.  And  along  its  narrow  path,  at 
frequent  intervals,  and  often  in  most  forbidding 
environments,  are  scattered  sparse  clusters  of 
hamlets,  whose  occupants  we  fancy  must  often 
voice  the  song  of  Arne : 

"  What  shall  I  see  if  I  ever  go 
Over  yon  mountains  high  ?  " 


48  THE  ROUND   TRIP 


CHAPTER  IX 

RIVERSIDE 

TDASADENA  has  a  twin,  and  her  name  is  Riv- 
-1-  erside.  They  are  both  "  in  verdure  clad  " 
right  royally,  and  possess  many  attributes  in  com 
mon,  resembling  each  other  more  closely  perhaps 
in  age,  in  rapid  growth,  and  many  minor  charac 
teristics  than  any  other  two  cities  of  California. 
Pasadena  is  much  the  larger  place  ;  and  while  con 
ceding  to  it  a  superior  situation,  a  beauty  of  adorn 
ment,  and  a  home-like  charm  found  nowhere  else, 
we  must  grant  to  Riverside  the  palm  of  fruit-cul 
ture.  The  acme  of  orange-fruitage  is  certainly 
attained  here,  both  in  extent  and  in  quality.  The 
orchards  are  indeed  "  groves,"  the  trees  being  so 
large  and  full  as  to  completely  overshadow  and 
hide  the  residences,  which  we  know  exist  some 
where  in  their  green  depths. 

Riverside  is  situated  in  San  Bernardino  County, 
seven  miles  from  Colton.  This  county,  by  the 
way,  is  the  largest  in  the  United  States.  Within 
its  borders  fifteen  States  the  size  of  "  little  Rhody  " 
could  be  placed  without  crowding.  The  Santa 


RIVERSIDE  49 

Ana  river  runs  through  the  neighborhood,  hence 
the  name  —  Riverside  —  chosen  for  the  settlement 
in  1871,  when  the  gigantic  scheme  for  irrigation 
was  begun.  The  soil  of  Riverside  is  a  red  clay 
mixed  with  sand — washed  probably  from  the 
mountain,  —  a  most  unpromising,  sterile-looking 
soil,  but  needing  evidently  only  a  little  scratching 
and  a  plentiful  supply  of  water  to  prove  itself 
especially  adapted  to  fruits  of  all  kinds.  Ener 
getic  labor  was  not  lacking  in  the  early  settlers  of 
this  happily  chosen  locality,  and  their  canal  system 
of  irrigation  challenges  the  admiration  of  every 
visitor.  The  river  above  the  town  was  tapped,  and 
two  cemented  canals  constructed,  twelve  and  four 
teen  miles  long,  ten  to  twenty  feet  wide,  from 
which  sub-canals  (100  miles  of  them)  surround 
every  blockv  with  gateways  through  which  the 
water  can  be  admitted  to  the  grounds  from  the 
main  artery,  at  pleasure. 

Water  is  never  allowed  at  the  immediate  base 
of  an  orange  tree.  Furrows  are  ploughed  five  or 
six  feet  from  the  trunk  of  each  tree,  and  two  or 
three  feet  apart,  making  perhaps  three  furrows 
between  each  row  of  trees,  these  furrows  all  con 
necting  with  each  other  throughout  the  grove, 
for  miles  in  length,  so  that  when  the  water  is 
admitted  from  the  outer  surrounding  channel,  as 
it  is  once  in  thirty  days  during  the  summer,  it 
flows  gently  round  in  little  rills,  where  it  can  be 


5O  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

best  appropriated  by  the  young  rootlets.  The 
system  is  perfect,  and  the  results  correspondingly 
rich.  Over  900  car-loads  of  golden  fruit  were 
shipped  from  Riverside  last  year,  and  it  is 
expected  the  crop  will  reach  1,200  car-loads  this 
season. 

Lemons,  olives,  apricots,  and  pomegranates  are 
also  extensively  grown,  and  raisin  culture  is  an 
important  feature  of  Riverside  industry,  a  quarter 
of  a  million  dollars  accruing  last  year  from  this 
product  alone,  which  is  of  a  quality  to  compete 
most  favorably  with  foreign  importations.  The 
White  Muscat  grape  is  cultivated  for  this  purpose, 
and  if  the  printer  renders  the  word  Mascot,  the 
mistake  would  not  be  a  bad  one,  for  such  it  has 
proved  to  many  a  lucky  owner.  The  vines  are 
planted  about  three  feet  apart,  giving  660  vines  to 
the  acre,  they  are  trimmed  back  to  the  dry  stump 
each  fall,  and  require  comparatively  little  care. 
After  the  grapes  are  picked  they  are  spread,  while 
still  in  the  field,  in  so-called  sweat-boxes,  though 
"they  do  not  really  sweat.  The  moisture  of  the 
grape  permeates  the  mass,  softening  the  stems, 
and  after  two  or  three  days  they  are  sorted  into 
three  different  grades  of  excellence,  dried,  win 
nowed,  and  packed  ;  and  most  interesting  is  it  to 
watch  one  or  two  hundred  girls,  with  deft  fingers 
arranging  the  layers  in  boxes  ready  for  shipment. 

Riverside  is  some  seven  miles  long  and  two  or 


RIVERSIDE  5 1 

three  miles  wide.  It  abounds  in  enticing  walks 
and  shady  drives,  the  perennially  green  pepper 
trees  drooping  in  graceful  arches  everywhere. 
Each  block  contains  two  and  a  half  acres,  near  the 
centre  of  which  the  resident  rears  his  home,  and 
sitting  there  on  his  pleasant  veranda  allows  the 
sun  to  do  his  work  for  him,  or  waits  for  its  golden 
beams  to  be  absorbed  by  the  numberless  trees 
around  him,  until  they  hang  with  golden  balls  and 
his  good  fortune  is  assured.  Less  attention  is 
given  here  to  floral  embellishment  than  at  Pasa 
dena,  although  pretty  gardens  are  very  numerous, 
and  masses  of  verbenas  often  border  the  curb 
stones.  We  notice  another  peculiarity  of  this 
California  atmosphere.  It  not  only  fails  to  retain 
the  briny  odor  of  the  sea,  but  does  not  readily 
transmit  the  fragrance  of  flowers.  A  certain 
gauge  of  humidity,  or  density  of  the  air  seems 
necessary  to  encourage  this  subtle  floral  charm. 
How  intoxicating  in  our  New  England  gardens  is 
the  sweet  breath  of  even  one  heliotrope,  or  one 
stalk  of  tuberose  !  Here  one  has  to  approach  the 
lusty  growth  and  mammoth  petals  closely  to  in 
vite  their  familiar  fragrance.  Tuberoses  grow 
on  and  on,  at  their  own  sweet  will  ;  as  soon 
as  the  flowers  of  one  bulb  have  passed,  another 
stalk  springs  up  to  take  its  place. 

The  show-card  of  Riverside  is  of  course  Mag 
nolia  Avenue,  the  finest  drive  it  is  claimed  in  the 


52  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

world.  To  reach  it,  however,  a  drive  of  three 
miles  from  our  pleasant  quarters  at  the  Glenwood 
is  necessary.  Back  of  Riverside  as  at  Pasadena 
is  an  arroyo,  or  valley,  40  feet  deep  and  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  wide.  Crossing  this,  we  reach  a  portion 
of  the  town  known  as  Brockton  square,  because 
its  residents  are  all  natives  of  that  thriving  city 
of  Mass.  Next  comes  a  strip  of  Government 
land,  a  mile  wide,  and  then  the  tract  named  by 
some  New  York  investors,  Arlington,  through 
which  the  beautiful  avenue  runs.  Its  width  of 
132  feet  is  divided  into  a  double  drive  by  a  mag 
nificent  continuous  row  of  pepper-trees  through 
its  centre.  On  either  side,  and  between  the 
drives  and  the  20  feet  wide  promenades,  is  a 
varied  growth  of  trees  and  palms,  evergreens,  the 
eucalyptus,  which  unless  trimmed  grows  8  to  15 
feet  in  height  every  year,  the  beautiful  gravilia, 
and  at  the  four  corners  of  each  intersecti-ng  ave 
nue,  a  magnolia  tree.  Extend  this  vista,  flecked 
with  its  enchanting  lights  and  shades,  its  sun 
beams  crossed  by  waving  branches,  for  ten  miles. 
Imagine  on  its  outer  borders  a  thick  green  hedge 
which  encloses  residences  that  here  find  frontage, 
or  orange  groves  that  are  simply  endless  in  every 
direction,  their  glossy  green  boughs  weighed  down 
with  their  wealth  of  ripened  fruit,  and  one  can 
readily  believe  it  all  seems  too  lovely  to  be  true, 
like  an  illusion  of  some  magician's  wand. 


RIVERSIDE  53 

Yet  a  few  miles  away,  overlooking  this  valley, 
rise  the  San  Bernardino  mountains  which  mark  the 
boundary  line  between  fertility  and  sterility. 
Janus-like  they  stand,  -looking  down  on  one  side 
upon  all  this  verdure  and  wonderful  productive 
ness,  on  the  other  side  upon  23,000  square  miles 
of  desert  waste  stretching  eastward  and  north 
ward  in  alkaline  plains,  sulphur  deposits,  and  arid 
barren  sands. 

"Lo,  these  are  parts  of  His  ways;  but  the 
thunder  of  His  power,  who  can  understand?  He 
setteth  an  end  to  darkness,  and  searcheth  out  all 
perfection." 


54  THE  ROUND    TRIP 


CHAPTER    X 

SAN    DIEGO 

THE  bay  of  San  Diego,  which  forms  one  of 
the  finest  natural  harbors  in  the  world,  was 
first  discovered  by  Don  Sebastian  Viscaino,  Nov. 
10,  1602.  He  surveyed  its  waters  two  days  later, 
which  date  happened  to  be  the  26oth  anniversary 
of  the  death  of  San  Diego,  St.  James  de  Alcala. 
The  great  explorer  therefore  christened  his  newly- 
found  prize  with  the  name  of  this  patron  saint,  a 
choice  approved  and  adopted  by  the  Mission  estab 
lished  here  sixty  years  later,  the  earliest  of  the 
eighteen  Missions  founded  in  California,  and  the 
only  one  to  accept  a  nomenclature  already  provided. 
Built  in  1769,  it  was  destroyed  by  an  unexpected 
attack  from  the  Indians  in  1775  ;  rebuilt  in  1776, 
its  only  foe  thereafter  was  the  gentler  but  no  less 
relentless  destroyer  —  Time.  It  lies  to-day  a 
crumbling  ruin,  its  roof  fallen  in,  its  arches  open 
to  the  sky,  its  bells  (which  were  cast  in  Spain) 
removed  to  the  old  village,  six  miles  distant,  where 
they  hang  suspended  from  a  cross-beam,  in  the 
open  air. 


SAN  DIEGO  55 

This  Old  Town,  as  it  is  called,  the  original  San 
Diego,  four  miles  north  of  the  present  city,  is  a 
most  interesting  place  to  visit,  as  being  the  site  of 
the  first  white  settlement  in  California,  and  one  of 
the  oldest  in  the  Republic.  It  bears  an  impress 
of  age  and  decay  which  is  quite  pathetic.  A 
modern  Indian  school  is  fostered  here,  there  is  a 
store  or  two,  and  a  motor  car-runs  through  its  one 
street  twice  a  day,  creating  a  little  ripple  in  the 
prevailing  stagnation,  but  otherwise  it  is  filled 
with  ruins  of  old  adobe  huts,  of  roofless  jagged 
walls  slowly  dropping  to  pieces,  as  the  numerous 
gophers  burrow  beneath  them,  or  the  harmless 
lizards  dart  in  and  out  of  each  sunny  crevice.  One 
feels  a  veritable  Rip  Van  Winkle  in  Old  Town. 
Some  of  these  lowly  dwellings  are  still  occupied, 
their  doorways  screened  by  smilax,  or  a  dense 
thatching  of  the  California  morning-glory,  whose 
large  sky-blue  blossoms  climb  in  luxuriant  masses 
to  the  ridge-pole,  their  white  centres  gleaming  like 
myriad  stars. 

Overlooking  the  village,  on  Presidio  Hill,  is  the 
half-obliterated  embankment  which  marks  the  out 
line  of  Fort  Stockton,  a  relic  of  stormier  days. 
And  a  still  more  interesting  link  of  modern  remi 
niscence  is  the  long  low  building  fronting  on  the 
plaza  designated  by  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson  as 
the  one  in  which  Ramona  was  married.  It  was  in 
Old  Town  that  the  gifted  authoress  heard  the  sad 


5  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

story  of  the  maiden  whose  life  she  utilized  for  her 
romance,  though  it  was  a  lady  of  Temecula  whose 
first  name  suggested  its  title.  We  entered  the 
deserted  structure,  and  passed  through  its  wide 
hall  to  the  courtyard  upon  which  its  every  room 
opens,  the  doors  standing  ajar,  as  if  the  rightful 
^ccupants  would  soon  return.  The  exterior  of 
the  building  was  originally  plastered  but  patches 
of  the  white  plaster  dropping  away,  exposes  to 
view  the  brown  adobe  mud  of  its  foundation  walls. 
The  roof  is  of  the  Spanish  tiling  which  somewhat 
resembles  large  broken  flower-pots,  the  convex  and 
concave  layers  facing  each  other  in  even  rows. 
One  feels  a  sad  pity  for  the  homeless  bride,  who 
had  fled  so  far  from  that  Camulos  ranch,  lying 
away  to  the  north  of  Los  Angeles,  and  who  knew 
not  what  further  trials  awaited  her  in  the  future, 
but  happily  love  makes  every  burden  light. 

The  modern  city  of  San  Diego  is  regularly  laid 
oat  with  broad  avenues,  suitably  numbered  and 
lettered,  and  very  level,  excepting  on  its  northern 
boundary  where  Florence  Hill  rises  somewhat  ab 
ruptly,  crowned  with  fine  residences.  Its  stores 
have  an  Eastern  look,  and  the  prices  of  goods  are 
very  reasonable.  Its  people  are  pleasant  and  affa 
ble,  and  many  are  of  New  England  birth.  The 
chief  natural  charm  of  San  Diego  is  undoubtably 
its  equable  climate,  its  uniform  spring-like  temper 
ature,  in  summer  or  in  winter ;  added  to  this, 


SAAr  DIEGO  5  J 

there  is  a  buoyancy,  a  remarkable  uplifting  quality 
in  the  atmosphere.  One  does  not  feel  that  he 
weighs  an  ounce  in  San  Diego,  although  the  scales 
show  a  steady  upward-going  tendency.  There  are 
sea-turns  and  breezes  occasionally,  but  these  are 
tempered  by  the  peninsula  which  lies  between  the 
Bay  and  the  Ocean  —  fair  Coronado. 

And  one  attempts  the  description  of  this  excep 
tionable  seaside-resort  most  reluctantly,  for  it 
must  be  seen  and  felt  to  be  thoroughly  appre 
ciated.  With  a  temperature  that  allows  fruits  of 
tropical  and  temperate  zones  to  ripen  side  by  side, 
with  a  bay  and  an  ocean  on  either  hand,  its  beach 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  world,  its  surf  magnificent, 
and  with  a  radiant  sunlit  atmosphere  that  no  pen 
can  ever  portray,  or  brush  transmit,  what  wonder 
that  this  location  was  chosen  for  that  Aladdin's 
palace  —  the  Hotel  del  Coronado,  the  largest  on 
the  globe.  It  is  a  unique  structure,  with  an  archi 
tectural  style  of  its  own,  stretching  itself  easily 
and  gracefully  over  seven  acres  of  ground,  enclos 
ing  thus  a  courtyard  where  rare  flowers  bloom  be 
neath  the  dashing  spray  of  fountains,  and  palms 
shade  the  walks  that  lead  thither  from  the  draw 
ing  and  music  rooms,  from  rotunda  and  many  pri 
vate  dining-rooms  that  border  this  garden.  When 
at  evening  electric  lights  shed  their  glamour  o'er 
the  scene,  touching  the  verdure  with  such  livid 
brilliancy,  when  choice  music  adds  its  charm  to  the 


58  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

soft  air,  when  fair  forms  picturesquely  clad,  float  in 
and  out  from  light  to  shadow,  we  realize  that  child 
hood's  dreams  of  fairy-land  were  all  true  and  are 
now  realized.  Rumors  reached  our  celibate  ears  of 
wonderful  bridal  suites  in  unvisited  regions  of  this 
vast  place  that  are  dreams  of  Oriental  splendor, 
but  we  gained  or  coveted  no  nearer  acquaintance 
with  their  white  and  golden  elegance.  Besides 
this  hotel,  a  thriving  little  town  has  sprung  up  on 
the  peninsula  in  the  last  three  years,  with  an  os 
trich  farm,  and  pleasant  little  parks.  Communica 
tion  with  the  main  land  is  by  ferry-boat. 

Many  delightful  trips  can  be  enjoyed  from 
San  Diego,  one  to  Lakeside,  a  mountainous  district 
in  the  Cajone  canon,  another  to  Ensenada,  Mex 
ico,  by  steamer,  or,  the  Mexican  border  can  also 
be  reached  by  a  twenty-mile  ride  in  an  open 
motor-car  along  the  Bay  to  National  City  (a  stir 
ring  place  which  still  shows  many  evidences  of  a 
mushroom  growth),  through  its  suburbs,  where 
olives  are  extensively  cultivated,  and  from  which 
diverges  the  road  to  Sweetwater  Dam,  the  city's 
reservoir,  thence  across  a  desolate  country  given 
over  to  cacti  of  various  kinds  and  grease-wood 
bushes,  whose  oily  roots  are  sought  for  fuel,  to 
Tia  Juana  where  one  can  visit  the  Government 
building  and  be  officially  stamped,  or  drive  to 
the  monument  marking  the  boundary  line  be 
tween  California  and  Mexico.  Smoking  seems 


SAN  DIEGO  59 

a  necessary  assistance  to  respiration  with  the 
average  Mexican,  and  driving  or  lounging,  his 
chief  occupation.  We  saw  no  drivers  however 
who  irreverently  tried  to  show  Almighty  God 
how  to  make  a  horse,  for  both  manes  and  tails 
remained  in  the  pristine  beauty  and  usefulness 
for  which  their  Creator  designed  them.  The 
swarthy  citizen  returns  our  morning  saluta 
tion  with  a  Frenchy  "  ne  comprends  pas  "  gesture 
and  the  one  word  "  Mexicano,"  albeit  with  gleam 
ing  teeth  and  the  grace  of  a  courtier.  But  Nature 
has  a  language  which  is  universal.  As  Harry 
French  in  the  Himalaya  mountains  heard  with 
delight  a  rooster  crow  in  unmistakable  English,  so 
we  can  testify  that  the  wind  sighs  through  the 
harp-strings  of  a  stunted  Mexican  pine,  with  a  real 
-New  Hampshire  twang. 

But  one  of  the  most  charming  spots  to  visit  in 
the  vicinity  of  San  Diego,  and  one  which  the  pub 
lic  has  heard  far  too  little  about  is  La  Jolla  (pro 
nounced  La  Holya,  and  signifying  The  Hole),  on 
the  Pacific  coast  north  of  the  city.  The  route 
thither  lies  through  Old  Town,  where  we  view 
again  the  mouldering  embers  of  a  life  above  whose 
grave  no  resurgam  will  ever  be  written,  we  see  the 
two  lofty  date  palms  planted  by  the  padres  over 
100  years  ago,  their  370  olive  trees  of  the  same 
age  being  also  in  good  bearing  condition,  and, 
turning  westward  reach  the  coast  at  Pacific 


60  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Beach,  four  miles  from  La  Jolla,  whence  a  me 
andering  carriage  road  leads  to  this  natural  curi 
osity. 

The  precipitous  clay  cliffs  at  this  point  are  not 
only  serpentine  in  outline,  affording  shelter  to 
numerous  bays  and  inlets,  but  they  are  cut  by  the 
action  of  the  waves  into  caves,  grottos  and  arches 
in  which  the  surf  holds  high  carnival,  though  at 
low  tide  the  visitor  can  pass  under  fantastic  nat 
ural  bridges  into  these  weird  rocky  caverns.  Far 
grander  however  is  it  to  sit  on  some  high  ledge 
above  the  tumult  when  the  breakers  are  at  their 
height,  and  watch  them  assail  our  fortress  with 
deafening  roar.  Sometimes  two  rollers  from  op 
posite  directions  will  strive  to  enter  at  once  the 
cave  beneath  us,  reverberating  through  the  rocky 
chambers  with  an  explosion  like  artillery,  then 
after  a  moment's  space,  the  spray  and  foam  are 
thrown  back  into  the  outer  air  and  high  above  our 
heads,  transfixed  there  for  a  brief  instant  by  a 
beautiful  rainbow's  arch,  as  if  the  sea-nymph 
whose  home  the  rude  waves  had  so  roughly  in 
vaded,  resentful  of  such  intrusion,  had  tossed 
back  a  handful  of  her  jewels  after  the  retreating 
foe. 

Indeed,  color  is  everywhere  dominant  at  La 
Jolla.  Bright  red  and  crimson  mosses  are  washed 
up  on  the  sand  ;  the  shells,  even  the  minutest,  are 
of  brilliant  tints,  the  water  \vhile  verv  clear  is  in 


SAN  DIEGO  6  I 

places  a  mosaic  of  blue  and  nile-green  patches, 
while  gold-fishes  of  lusty  size  turn  up  their  gleam 
ing  scales  to  catch  and  reflect  the  sunshine.  The 
sky  is  of  the  bluest  and  tenderest  tone.  The 
rarified  air  is  so  invigorating,  so  fresh  and  fragrant 
that  we  deliberately  tasted  of  one  opaline  wave  to 
make  sure  that  we  were  looking  upon  an  ocean  of 
brine.  One  trophy  from  La  Jolla  which  we 
especially  prize  is  a  shark's  egg  that  had  been 
washed  up  on  the  rocks,  black  as  india-rubber  and 
spirally  convoluted  like  a  shell.  Spouting  whales 
are  frequently  observed  from  one  promontory  of 
this  beach. 

Returning  from  a  day  spent  at  this  delightful 
spot,  we  reach  San  Diego  just  as  the  sun  is 
sinking  behind  Point  Loma,  whose  white  light 
house  is  clearly  outlined  against  the  crimson  back 
ground,  a  brilliancy  which  touches  the  myriad 
windows  of  the  Coronado  with  flame,  and  is 
reflected  in  the  placid  waters  of  the  bay,  when, 
suspended  above  the  horizon,  in  mirage,  (a  phe 
nomenon  common  to  this  luminous  locality), 
appears  a  three-masted  ship  with  every  sail  set, 
being  towed  by  an  energetic  tug  into  some  shore 
less  harbor  of  the  upper  air. 


62  THE  ROUND   TRIP 


CHAPTER   XI 

EN    ROUTE 


AFTER  every  enjoyable  trip  through  southern 
California,  one  naturally  returns  again  and 
again  to  peerless  Pasadena,  which  like  a  sweet- 
voiced  siren  woos  and  attracts  us,  potently  and 
irresistibly.  Certainly  no  enchantress  owns  more 
willing  captives,  for  Pasadena  seems  lovelier  than 
ever  since  the  recent  showers  have  clothed  her 
hills  and  lawns  with  richest  verdure,  and  fringed 
her  orange  boughs  with  tassels  of  lightest  emerald 
greeno  The  old  walks  and  drives  offer  fresh  de 
lights,  while  new  ones  still  invite  us.  We  visit 
the  garden  of  Mrs.  Dr.  Carr,  a  lady  well  known  as 
a  botanist,  who  has  collected  in  her  extensive 
grounds  a  specimen  of  almost  every  tree,  shrub,  or 
flower  known  to  temperate  or  tropical  climes.  On 
her  lawn  stands  a  large  camphor  tree,  a  cedar  of 
Lebanon,  (worthy  to  have  been  chosen  by  Solo 
mon's  builders),  an  Oregon  cedar  from  the 
Columbia  river  valley,  a  red-wood,  a  variety  of 
pines,  palms,  bananas  with  ripening  bunches  of 
fruit  and  curious  blossoms  suspended  therefrom, 
while  in  another  corner  are  persimmon  trees 


EN  ROUTE  63 

whose  branches  are  breaking  under  their  weight 
of  luscious  fruitage.  The  view  from  these  grounds 
also  of  the  city,  the  valley,  and  cloud-wreathed 
mountain  range  is  exceedingly  beautiful. 

Pasadena  has  also,  at  present,  an  added  attrac 
tion.  The  Raymond  is  open  and  its  first  winter 
occupants  have  arrived.  The  eminence  on  which 
the  hotel  so  grandly  stands,  and  the  sloping  sides 
of  this  charming  height  have  received  the  last 
touch  of  adornment  which  cultivated  taste  and 
ingenuity  could  devise.  Masses  of  color  form  ef 
fective  contrasts  everywhere,  while  beyond  the 
garden  beds,  springing  up  from  the  lawn,  are 
oleanders,  double  daturas  and,  azaleas  willing  to 
blossom  out  of  doors  as  well  as  under  glass  roofs, 
interspersed  with  slender  evergreens  which  cast 
dark  slanting  shadows  over  the  alfalfa  which 
forms  much  of  the  green  sward  in  this  latitude. 
''And  at  evening,  when  darkness  veils  all  this  love 
liness,  the  hillside  presents  a  new  phase  of  beauty 
which  can  be  seen  for  miles  around.  Electric 
lights  line  every  path  and  drive,  winding  about 
from  base  to  summit  like  wandering  fireflies, 
which  with  the  lighted  windows  of  the  hotel  re 
mind  us  of  that  piece  of  pyrotechnic  display  fre 
quently  given  on  Boston  Common,  Fourth  of  July 
nights,  called  the  illuminated  Beehive,  from  which 
swarming  bees  dart  out  into  the  air  and  return  on 
fiery  wing. 


64  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

But  the  warm  afternoon's  glow  flooded  the  hill 
when  we  ascended  to  the  open  portals  of  this 
famous  house,  pausing  as  we  went  to  admire  the 
magnificent  roses,  the  heliotrope  trees  so  lavish  of 
their  purple  bloom  as  to  veil  therewith  their  leaves, 
stopping  often  to  wonder  over  some  strange  plant 
or  new  flower,  turning  even  when  the  broad 
veranda  is  reached  to  gaze  with  glistening  eyes 
upon  the  rare  beauty  of  the  more  distant  land 
scape,  until  half-reluctantly  we  seek  the  hitherto 
coveted  pleasure  of  entering  this  charming  place. 
And  of  course  when  once  within  the  spacious 
portals  the  first  thing  we  behold  is  the  genial 
presence  of  Mr.  Merrill,  with  "Crawford's"  so 
plainly  written  all  over  his  rotund  personality. 
How  natural  he  looks !  And  so  strong  is  the 
power  of  association  that  instantly  that  part  of  us 
which  is  not  anchored  is  whisked  away  to  that 
grand  old  Notch  among  the  White  Hills,  around 
which  cluster  so  many  pleasant  memories.  How 
desolate  it  must  be  to-day,  swept  by  chilling  blasts, 
with  deep  snows  drifting  about  the  closed  doors 
and  shutters  and  pleasant  paths.  Do  those  lovely 
cascades  leap  and  splash  and  lash  themselves  into 
foam  when  no.  human  eye  beholds,  no  heart 
responds  to  their  wild  beauty  ?  Do  those  moun 
tain  brooks  ripple  and  purl  and  chatter  in  never- 
ending  play,  or  has  the  Frost-king  laid  his  icy  fingers 
upon  their  breasts  and  stilled  their  merry  frolic  ? 


EN  ROUTE  65 

But  the  strains  of  other  music,  the  fragrance  of 
calla  lilies  grouped  in  vases  near,  recall  us  to  a 
sunnier  land  as  we  are  led  from  the  rotunda  into 
the  reception  room,  thence  through  the  ladies' 
billiard  parlor  and  reading  room  into  the  long  draw 
ing  room  where  the  usual  orchestral  concert,  given 
each  afternoon  and  evening,  is  in  progress.  The 
musicians  are  grouped  about  the  grand  piano, 
about  which  rests  a  large  pyramid  of  chrysanthe 
mums  ;  ladies  sit  around  the  room  with  their  em 
broideries  and  fancy  work,  gentlemen  drop  their 
newspapers  to  toy  with  their  glasses  and  listen  to 
the  choice  programme,  while  the  warm  June  (we 
mean  December)  sunshine  casts  long  slanting 
beams  through  this  beautiful  room.  Across  the 
corridor  is  the  spacious  ball-room,  with  its  little 
stage  and  proscenium  arch  for  the  dramatically 
inclined.  This  room  is  frescoed  with  very  bold 
design  in  natural  tints  of  brake  ferns,  palms,  and 
cannas,  which  lend  a  most  effective  adornment  to 
the  place.  Natural  flowers  fill  every  table,  nook 
and  vase,  in  tasteful  combinations.  They  are 
placed  as  an  appetizing  feature  upon  every  table 
in  the  dining-room,  where  the  silver  and  dainty 
napery  form  a  most  effective  background  for  floral 
display,  as  indeed  they  prove  for  the  strawberries 
and  cream  served  in  mid-winter  at  the  Raymond 
with  the  matutinal  meal. 

If  winter   were   one   long    playtime   hour,   how 


66  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

pleasant,  how  restful  to  loiter  here,  but  other 
scenes  invite  us,  new  duties  await  us  on  the 
Northern  coast.  Therefore  most  regretfully  we 
break  one  by  one  the  meshes  of  the  enchantress' 
net,  and  speed  our  way  onward,  beholding  with  our 
last  yearning  glance  on  one  side  the  train,  the  new 
white  mantle  which  the  night  has  spread  upon  the 
loftiest  peaks  of  the  Sierra,  while  flashing  past 
our  window  on  the  other  hand  is  golden  fruit 
growing  ever  larger  and  of  brighter  hue,  with  "a 
goodly  crop  of  windfalls  bestrewing  the  ground 
beneath.  How  long  would  they  thus  remain,  if 
the  street  gamins  we  have  known  should  invade 
this  land  ? 

The  route  from  Los  Angeles  to  San  Francisco 
runs  through  a  sparsely  settled,  unpopulous  but 
very  picturesque  region.  The  character  of  the 
scenery  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the 
railway  pierces  some  thirty  tunnels,  so  grudgingly 
do  the  mountain  spurs  relinquish  the  right  of  way. 
The  passage  through  the  longest  of  these  tunnels, 
at  San  Fernando,  requires  nearly  as  much  time  as 
does  our  own  Hoosac,  though  not  quite  two  miles 
long,  as  for  some  reason,  (perhaps  from  the  shelv 
ing  character  of  the  rock  hereabouts),  the  utmost 
care  and  the  slowest  pace  of  our  iron  steed  is  en 
forced.  In  direct  contrast  to  these  rocky  walls 
which  hem  us  in  so  closely,  we  next  traverse  the 
western  corner  of  the  great  Mojave  desert,  a  level 


EN  ROUTE  67 

sandy  plain,  not  wholly  devoid  of  vegetation,  for 
here  the  yucca  palm  abounds,  utilized  we  hear  by 
a  London  firm  for  the  manufacture  of  printing 
paper.  Then  as  the  darkness  settles  we  enter  a 
spur  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range  and  the  scenery 
becomes  grand  and  awe-inspiring.  It  is  a  singu 
lar  fact  that  time-tables  are  made  up  in  this  coun 
try  with  especial  design,  it  would  seem,  to  pass  by 
the  most  interesting  feature  of  every  journey  after 
nightfall,  when  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the 
train  should  not  start  out  earlier.  Consequently 
the  grandeur  of  Tehachapi  summit  was  gained  by 
our  two  panting  locomotives  just  as  every  berth 
was  made  up  and  their  owners  were  expected  to 
occupy  them.  Perish  the  thought !  We  had 
heard  of  that  triumph  of  railway  engineering 
known  as  the  Loop,  and  were  determined  at  any 
cost  to  see  it  or  —  die  !  So,  impressing  a  railway 
official  and  his  big  lantern  with  an  all-consuming 
desire  to  inspect  this  part  of  the  country  just  once 
more  himself,  we,  under  his  escort  traversed  six 
open  and  very  breezy  platforms,  and  five  cars  filled 
with  the  oddest  shaped  sleeping  human  bundles, 
to  the  rear  end  of  the  long  train  where  we  hung 
on  to  the  brake-wheel  (realizing  as  never  before 
what  a  non-conductor  of  heat  iron  is)  and  thence 
for  several  miles,  we  were  lost  to  all  but  the  sub 
limity  of  this  wild  mountain  pass. 

We  could  look  up,  up  until  the  stars  seemed 


68  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

lower  than. the  topmost  trees,  we  looked  down  into 
chasms  and  ravines  that  made  our  narrow  ledge 
upon  the  mountain's  breast  seem  a  most  precarious 
footing.  How  deep  and  solemn  the  shadows  be 
neath  us,  how  soft  and  silvery  the  young  moon's 
light  upon  the  crests,  illuminating  also  our  narrow 
course,  while  a  lesser  luminary,  the  kind  lantern, 
answered  more  questions  than  it  had  ever  thought 
of  before.  Doubtless  it  will  avoid  a  Yankee  in 
future  as  it  would  a  cyclone. 

But  the  Loop  ?  Well,  it  was  longer  than  we  ex 
pected,  being  some  three  or  four  miles  in  circum 
ference,  therefore  the  curve  was  very  gradual. 
The  loop  is  necessary  because  the  grade  of  two 
adjacent  defiles  is  of  such  different  elevation,  that 
the  only  way  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other  is  by 
this  little  detour,  the  train  in  returning  crossing 
its  own  track  by  a  tunnel  underneath  the  road-bed 
just  passed  over. 

From  this  point  onward  we  found  one  of  the 
roughest  bits  of  railway  travel  we  ever  experi 
enced.  We  had  to  keep  awake  and  hold  on  to  re 
main  in  our  berths.  Precipitation  into  the  aisle 
seemed  momentarily  imminent.  Perhaps  we 
missed  the  vestibule  cars  to  which  we  have  of  late 
been  accustomed,  which  reduces  the  friction  of 
travel  to  a  minimum.  But  we  were  not  left  with 
out  other  Raymond  provision  for  our  comfort,  even 
though  travelling  alone.  Long  ago  in  that  Boston 


EN  ROUTE  69 

office,  these  managers  knew  that  we  should  need 
on  this  journey  both  supper  and  breakfast,  conse 
quently  a  coupon  entitling  us  to  each  repast  was 
found  bound  into  our  russia-leather,  gilt-edged 
ticket-books. 

Soon  after  daybreak,  as  we  leave  Lathrop,  (this 
town  bearing  the  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of  ex- 
Gov.  and  Senator  Leland  Stanford),  we  cross  the 
San  Joaquin  river,  the  first  river  we  have  seen  in 
California  that  has  not  been  bottom  side  up,  the 
sandy  river-bed  alone  visible.  The  land  is  level 
as  a  prairie  and  beautifully  verdant.  Woods  are 
occasionally  seen  which  give  a  home  feature  to  the 
landscape,  although  the  growth  is  chiefly  live-oak 
and  eucalyptus.  Green  hills  arise  on  the  horizon 
as  we  near  our  destination,  double-peaked  Mount 
Diablo  claims  our  admiration,  a  portion  of  San 
Francisco  bay  is  skirted,  and  soon  we  alight,  not 
in  the  metropolis  as  we  had  a  right  to  expect,  but 
in  Oakland,  whence  we  embark  in  a  commodious 
ferry-boat  and  finish  our  journey  by  water.  Could 
anything  be  more  incongruous  ?  To  approach  San 
Francisco  from  Boston  by  ploughing  the  blue 
waters  of  the  bay  and  landing  at  the  city's  water 
front,  exactly  as  if  we  came  from  Japan  !  Is  this 
not  sailing  under  false  pretences  ?  In  vain  we  are 
told  that  San  Francisco  is  a  peninsula,  that  the 
bay  runs  around  it  so  completely  that  approach  to 
it  by  land  is  impossible.  We  are  still  unrecon- 


7<D  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

ciled.  Isn't  Boston  a  peninsula  ?  And  would  not 
a  visitor  from  Chicago  feel  outraged  if  he  were 
obliged  to  reach  the  Hub  by  way  of  Hull  ? 


SAA'  FRANCISCO 


CHAPTER    XII 

SAN    FRANCISCO 

SO  magnificent  a  harbor  as  San  Francisco  Bay, 
one  in  which  the  combined  navies  of  the 
world  might  easily  find  commodious  anchorage, 
demanded  as  a  natural  sequence  that  a  populous 
and  cosmopolitan  city  should  be  built  upon  its 
shores.  The  fact  that  the  site  chosen  for  the  city 
was  a  succession  of  hills  and  ridges  proved  no  in 
surmountable  obstacle.  We  had  heard  that  San 
Francisco  was  built  upon  one  hundred  hills.  We 
have  not  counted  them,  but  do  not  believe  the 
number  overestimated.  And  suck  hills !  The 
usual  comparison  "  steep  as  the  roof  of  a  house  " 
does  only  partial  justice  to  their  acute  incline. 
Nothing  could  climb  some  of  them  it  would  seem 
but  a  cat  or  a  squirrel,  and  yet  up  their  successive 
and  thickly  settled  terraces  mount  steadily  and 
speedily  the  cable  cars  with  which  the  city  is  com 
pletely  honeycombed  in  every  direction,  naught 
but  the  tops  of  their  roofs  being  visible  to  the  ob 
server  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  And,  reaching  the 
summit,  the  cars  pitch  almost  perpendicularly 


72  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

downward  as  a  fly  descends  the  walls  of  a  room, 
or  as  a  ship  dips  into  the  trough  of  a  heavy  sea, 
only  to  mount  a  higher  and  steeper  hill  beyond, 
continuing  this  see-sawing, 

"  Now  we  go  up,  up,  up-y ; 
And  now  we  go  down,  down,  down-v,*' 

style  of  locomotion  for  miles  all  over  the  city. 
Exaggeration  here  is  an  impossibility,  for  it  is  all 
so  utterly  incredible,  even  while  we  gaze.  To 
quote  from  a  Santa  Barbara  stage  driver  :  "  What's 
the  use  of  lying  about  this  country,  when  the 
truth  is  more  than  any  one  can  believe  ? " 

And  on  these  precipitous  heights  and  the  ap 
proaches  Reading  thereto  stand  magnificent  pal 
aces,  residences  of  the  elite,  the  supplies  for 
which,  as  well  as  their  building  materials  must 
have  been  obtained,  we  naturally  infer,  by  air-line 
from  some  other  planet,  since  the  streets  on  these 
upper  terraces  are  grass-grown  from  curb  to  curb, 
except  where  it  is  cut  by  the  cable  track.  These 
homes  of  wealth  and  refinement  surround  them 
selves  often  with  beautiful  grounds  and  gardens 
which  flourish  marvellously  in  this  etherealized  air, 
while  from  these  summits  the  views  of  the  bay  and 
ocean  and  of  the  great  city  which  stretches  like  a 
vast  amphitheatre  below  us,  are  surpassingly 
grand. 

Many  of  these  hills  have  been  leveled  to  fill  up 
as  many  valleys,  swamps  and  ravines,  (so  master- 


SAN  FRANCISCO  73 

fully  does  the  mind  of  man  tnumph  over  all  obsta 
cles),  and  the  business  portion  of  the  city  is 
therefore  broad  and  level,  with  plenty  of  room  in 
its  marts  of  trade,  in  its  wide  avenues  and  on  its 
pavements  for  everybody,  at  the  busiest  hour. 
We  have  seen  no  blockades,  no  crowding,  no 
pushing  or  jostling,  and,  although  this  statement 
will  hardly  be  credited  in  suburban  Boston,  no  cars 
in  which  human  beings  are  packed  like  cattle  in 
the  shambles.  One  can  ride  without  being  trodden 
under  foot,  or  being  sat  upon,  without  carrying  the 
weight  of  one  neighbor's  bundles  upon  his  knee,  or 
the  print  of  another's  elbow  in  his  side  for  an  hour 
or  two  after  reaching  his  destination.  And  yet 
what  a  noisy,  tumultuous,  wide-awake  city  it  is,  for 
it  never  sleeps.  It  is  always  up  and  dressed.  If 
we  arise  at  the  "wee  sma'  hours  ayant  the  twal'," 
and  look  from  our  casement  into  the  street  below, 
we  see  stores  open,  houses  brilliantly  lighted, 
cable-cars  with  clanging  alarm-bell  whizzing  by, 
merry  strollers  whistling  under  our  window,  strains 
of  distant  music  in  the  air,  and  the  same  features 
of  activity  that  belong  to  daylight.  Observance  of 
the  Sabbath  is  quite  an  obsolete  custom,  perhaps 
because  of  the  foreign  mixture  in  the  population. 

The  richness  of  the  city  and  the  lavish  display 
of  its  wealth  cannot  fail  to  impress  the  visitor. 
Such  wonderful  shop-windows,  the  like  of  which 
Boston,  even  at  her  holiday  season,  never  dreamed, 


74  THE   ROUND    TRIP 

for  San  Francisco  seems  the  nautilus  to  secrete 
the  pearls  of  the  sea,  to  gather  to  herself  the 
choicest  treasures  of  every  market  and  every  land. 
Even  thus  have  brave  souls  and  noble  characters 
from  many  nations  contributed  to  her  greatness, 
whose  names  she  appropriately  immortalizes  in 
the  nomenclature  of  her  streets.  One  familiar 
with  the  early  history  of  her  pioneer  days  feels  the 
blood  quicken  in  his  veins  as  he  reads  the  names 
of  Fremont  and  Taylor,  of  the  army,  Montgomery, 
Stockton  and  Dupont,  of  the  navy,  Sutter,  How 
ard,  Leavenworth,  Jones,  Vallejo,  Larkin  and 
Geary,  the  first  postmaster,  and  first  agent  au 
thorized  by  the  P.  O.  Dept.  to  bring  mail  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  later  chosen  alcalde,  an  office  similar 
to  that  of  mayor.  It  was  in  a  churchyard  on 
Geary  street  that  the  sacred  dust  was  laid,  so  dear 
to  many  Boston  hearts,  the  form  once  vitalized 
and  enshrined  by  the  matchless  spirit  of  Thomas 
Starr  King.  The  city  ordinance  forbidding  buri 
als  in  the  city's  precincts  was  set  aside  in  this  in 
stance  that  the  sight  of  his  tomb  might  recall  as  a 
daily  inspiration  his  valued  words  and  work.  But 
as  the  old  church  has  now  withdrawn  to  a  more 
quiet  locality,  the  treasured  ashes  have  been  also 
tenderly  removed  to  another  resting  place,  which 
is  still  however  within  the  city  limits. 

And  of  Chinatown — that  ulcer  gnawing  at  the 
city's   heart  —  this    deponent    speaketh    not.     It 


SAW  FRANCISCO  75 

occupies  a  large  tract  of  one  of  the  best  portions 
of  the  city.  We  have  passed  through  its  most 
civilized  and  cleanliest  corner,  where  are  the  shops 
filled  with  strange  and  often  valuable  curios,  much 
sought  after  by  Eastern  visitors.  But  of  the 
opium  dens,  two  and  three  stories  belqw  the  level 
of  the  street,  leading  from  alleys  two  feet  wide 
only  to  be  threaded  under  the  protection  of  the 
police,  of  the  theatres  whose  performances  some 
times  last  twelve  hours,  and  of  other  abodes  of 
filth  and  vermin,  the  profoundest  ignorance  would 
seem  the  greater  bliss.  If  one  has  a  retentive 
memory  let  him  be  careful  what  pictures  he  hangs 
among  her  cherished  treasures,  selecting  only 
those  whose  permanent  companionship  will  be  a 
pleasure.  As  well  eat  tainted  meat  as  contact 
from  motives  of  curiosity  alone,  impure  malarial 
mental  atmospheres. 

The  trip  to  the  Cliff  House  and  its  attendant 
attractions  is  a  deservedly  popular  one.  The 
hotel  occupies  a  rocky  promontory  on  the  coast 
outside  the  Golden  Gate,  upon  which  and  the  Fort 
that  guards  this  open  portal  we  look  down  as  we 
wind  our  tortuous  course  about  the  bluffs.  The 
heights  above  the  Cliff  House  are  occupied  by  the 
private  grounds  of  Mr.  Adolph  Sutro,  and  are 
thrown  freely  open  for  the  public  to  enjoy.  A 
distinguishing  feature  of  this  extensive  garden 
and  park  is  the  abundance  of  statuary  with  which 


76  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

it  is  peopled,  both  classic  and  comic.  Opposite 
the  hotel,  a  stone's  throw  from  the  precipitous 
face  of  the  cliff  are  the  small  rocky  islands  upon 
whuch  a  squirming,  writhing  mass  of  seal-skin 
cloaks  in  the  rough  lay  drying  in  the  sun.  This 
is  the  natural  habitat  of  these  semi-aquatic  crea 
tures  and  a  law  has  been  passed,  forever  preserv 
ing  them  from  injury.  Least  lovely  of  Nature's 
large  family,  and  certainly  most  uncomfortable, 
their  hideous  wailing  and  barking  are  the  bane  of 
the  place,  for  this  caterwauling  never  ceases  day 
or  night,  but  greatly  increases  in  stormy  weather. 
The  beach  below  the  cliff  is  very  gradual  in  its 
slope  towards  the  water  which  makes  a  magnifi 
cent  surf  and  rapid  breakers. 

Returning  to  the  city,  a  visit  can  be  paid  en 
route  to  Golden  Gate  Park,  an  enclosure  of  over  a 
thousand  acres,  which  only  a  few  years  ago  was  an 
utterly  barren  sand  bank,  but  has  now  been 
magically  transformed  into  a  paradise.  Its  trees 
are  so  thickly  planted  that  at  times  one  seems  in 
an  impenetrable  forest,  the  winding  drives  and 
paths  lead  the  eye  such  a  short  distance  before 
reaching  the  vanishing  point.  The  landscape 
gardening,  the  ornamental  beds  in  quaint  designs 
have  also  this  advantage,  that  they  are  made  for 
the  whole- year  and  not  for  a  brief  summer's  day. 
The  extensive  conservatories  (for  which  the  valu 
able  collection  of  the  late  James  Lick  furnished 


SAW  FKANCISCO  *]J 

the  nucleus)  are  filled  with  the  choicest  botanical 
treasures  of  the  entire  world.  Floating  on  one  of 
its  miniature  lakes,  beside  our  white  pond-lily  in 
lavish  bloom,  we  noted  the  mammoth  leaves  of  the 
Victoria  Regia,  or  Amazon  water-lily.  Statues  to 
Garfield  and  Halleck  stand  in  the  Park,  also  a 
handsome  memorial  to  Francis  Scott  Key,  the 
author  of  our  "Star  Spangled  Banner." 

The  Presidio,  a  military  reservation  of  1500 
acres,  occupies  a  lovely  spot  on  the  northern 
outskirts  of  San  Francisco,  just  within  the  Golden 
Gate,  and  on  the  margin  of  the  bay.  The  fortified 
island  of  Alcatraz  is  here  a  near  neighbor*,  and 
some  invalid  members  of  its  garrison  were  spend 
ing,  on  the  occasion  of  our  visit,  a  comfortable 
convalescence  in  the  Presidio  hospital.  The 
officers'  homes  were  exceedingly  pleasant,  being 
surrounded  by  lawns  and  gardens,  and  a  little  park 
whose  serpentine  paths  were  outlined  with  cannon 
balls.  The  quarters  assigned  to  the  horses  of  the 
cavalry  and  artillery  were  most  comfortable,  and 
the  private  soldier  and  guardian  of  our  peace 
seemed  to  have  no  duty  on  hand  more  arduous 
than  a  game  of  base-ball. 

The  Spanish  padres  who,  in  California's  early 
days  so  industriously  and  zealously  planted  their 
Missions  at  every  point  whose  occupancy*  seemed 
of  importance  in  the  success  of  their  purpose  to 
christianize  the  land  and  to  awe  the  native  tribes 


78  THE   ROUND    TRIP 

into  submission,  showed  most  excellent  judgment 
in  the  selection  of  sites.  The  mission  edifices 
were  always  situated  where  the  land  was  most 
fertile  and  always  removed  some  distance  from 
the  coast,  although  such  selection  must  often  have 
added  many  weary  miles  to  the  lonely  journeys  of 
the  fathers  in  their  visits  to  widely  separated 
diocese. 

The  Mission  Dolores  of  San  Francisco  however 
(built  in  1776),  was  not  so  far  removed  from  the 
bay  as  it  now  seems,  since  so  much  land  has  been 
reclaimed  from  the  sea  by  man's  device  and  neces 
sity,  in  fact,  in  a  recent  excavation  for  a  cellar  on 
Montgomery  street,  quite  in  the  business  heart  of 
the  city,  the  hulk  of  a  sloop  was  found  which  had 
originally  sunk  at  its  moorings  at  the  dock.  A 
visit  to  the  old  Spanish  quarter,  with  its  relics  of 
early  settlement,  offers  vivid  contrast  to  the  lofty 
edifices  of  more  modern  sections.  The  sanctuary 
itself  is  the  smallest  we  have  seen  of  its  kind  and 
very  quaint  in  its  exterior.  It  is  of  considerable 
length  though  low  in  height,  and  its  facade,  of 
greyish  plaster  is  very  narrow  with  two  short  pil 
lars  on  either  side,  and  in  niches  in  the  pediment 
above  the  entrance  are  hung  three  small  bells. 
Its  roof  is  of  the  semi-cylindrical  tiling,  the  floor 
of  earth  and  the  whole  structure  presents  a  very 
singular  and  foreign  appearance.  Adjoining  it  is 
an  ancient  burial  ground  where  some  of  the  earlier 


SAN  FRANCISCO  79 

settlers  were  entombed,  but  its  present  appearance 
is  one  of  dilapidation  and  neglect.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  old  Mission  rises  the  Catholic  church 
now  used,  a  brick  edifice  with  cheery  interior,  its 
walls  hung  with  pictured  object-lessons,  necessary 
perhaps  for  the  untutored  mind  before  it  has 
grown  to  apprehend  spiritual  truth,  a  needed  step 
in  the  spiral  stairway  sloping  God-ward. 

Back  of  this  old  settlement  rise  the  mission 
peaks  from  whose  heights  a  new  idea  of  the  city's 
vast  extent  can  be  obtained.  Near  at  hand  a  few 
adobe  walls  still  stand  ;  from  thence  the  human 
tide  swells  on  and  stretches  far  and  wide  until  its 
highest  crest  is  reached  on  Nob  Hill,  where  rise 
the  palaces  of  the  Floods,  the  Crockers,  Stanfords 
and  others  to  whom  life  has  proved  a  financial  suc 
cess.  One  can  almost  see  how  the  city  grew  and 
crystallized  into  its  present  form,  which  is  still  but 
a  prophecy  of  its  future  greatness. 

As  an  easy  stepping  stone  from  the  Spanish 
regime  to  the  days  of  the  Argonauts,  the  forty- 
niners,  one  naturally  turns  aside  to  visit  the 
beautiful  building  erected  by  the  Society  of 
Pioneers,  and  its  relic-hall,  where  are  collected  not 
alone  Indian  and  natural  curiosities  peculiar  to 
California,  but  trophies  from  the  entire  World. 
Occupying  a  prominent  place  is  the  portrait  of 
John  W.  Marshall,  who  on  Jan.  19,  1848,  first  dis 
covered  gold*  in  California,  at  Sutter's  Mill, 


8o  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Colonna,  near  Sacramento,  and,  preserved  in  a 
glass  case  is  a  fac  simile  of  the  valuable  nugget 
which  he  found.  On  the  wall  hangs  also  a  still 
more  interesting  relic  —  the  Bear  Flag  —  which 
marks  the  first  attempt  to  Americanize  California, 
or  to  wrest  it  from  Mexican  control  and  make  of 
it  an  independent  Republic.  The  flag  was  first 
raised  June  14,  1846,  was  kept  flying  with  great 
effort  for  twenty-seven  days,  and  lowered  July 
I  ith,  to  be  gladly  replaced  by  the  stars  and  stripes 
as  then  authorized  by  the  U.  S.  government,  be 
tween  whom  and  Mexico  war  had  been  declared. 
The  flag  is  of  white  unbleached  cotton  a  yard  long, 
with  a  four-inch  border  of  red  flannel.  In  the 
upper  left-hand  corner  is  'a  lone  star,  in  the  centre 
a  grizzly  bear,  rampant,  these  designs  being  ex 
ecuted  without  artistic  excellence,  in  Venetian  red 
and  Spanish  brown  from  some  wheelwright's  shop, 
while  underneath  in  ink  are  the  words  CALI 
FORNIA  REPUBLIC.  The  name  California 
was  originally  a  fancy  title  given  by  the  obscure 
Spanish  author  of  a  novelette,  to  the  imaginary 
territory  lying  northward  of  Mexico,  as  vaguely 
reported  by  Cortes  on  his  return  to  the  court  of 
Spain. 


OAKLAND  8 1 


CHAPTER   XIII 

OAKLAND 

SIX  miles  from  San  Francisco,  as  the  sea-gull 
flies,  across  the  pleasant  waters  of  the  bay, 
stands  the  beautiful  city  of  Oakland,  with  Alameda 
and  Berkeley  on  either  side.  Oakland  has  been 
called  the  city  of  residences  (or  in  slang  parlance, 
Frisco's  bedroom),  and  it  wears  the  title  appropri 
ately.  It  has  a  diurnal  population  of  about 
65,000,  and  while  possessing  a  thriving  little 
business  centre  of  its  own,  its  wide  level  streets 
are  chiefly  occupied  by  beautiful  villas  and  homes. 
The  gardens  which  surround  them  remind  us  at 
this  winter  season  of  Pasadena  taking  a  nap,  and 
an  opossum  kind  of  nap  too,  a  partial  rest  with 
one  eye  open,  for  Nature  never  sleeps  in  this 
wondrous  land.  Everywhere  rose  bushes  are 
bristling  with  buds  that  await  only  a  few  more 
days  of  sunshine  to  expand,  magnolias  promise 
even  earlier  unfoldment,  and  the  callas  are  already 
in  their  prime ;  indeed  Oakland  seems  pre 
eminently  their  chosen  home,  for  every  yard  dis 
plays  its  abundant  share  of  these  snowy,  mam- 


82  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

moth  flowers.  And  we  note  here  such  variety  of 
trees  from  the  native  live-oak,  (whose  abundance 
christened  the  city),  the  locust  and  cottonwood,  to 
the  ornate,  feathery-leaved  acacia,  in  its  many  sub 
divisions,  the  mustard,  fig,  cypress,  and  number 
less  varieties  of  palms.  We  counted  fifteen  new 
specimens  of  trees  and  shrubs  which  we  had 
never  seen  before,  in  one  short  walk,  and  were 
obliged  to  remain  in  ignorance  as  to  their  proper 
classification,  for  the  resident,  to  the  manor  born, 
never  knows,  and  doesn't  even  know  that  he  does 
not  know.  Repeatedly  we  have  asked  the  rightful 
owner  and  proprietor  of  a  garden  the  name  of  a 
prominent  flowering  shrub,  and  then  watched  his 
changes  of  expression  from  surprise  at  the  query 
to  amazement  and  chagrin  at  the  discovery  that  he 
cannot  give  you  the  desired  information,  a  frank 
confession  of  his  ignorance,  and  resolve  that  he 
will  soon  ascertain,  but  —  he  never  will.  The 
Californian  type  of  mind  is  not  of  an  inquiring 
nature.  In  its  font  of  ideas  there  are  few  interro 
gation  points.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  take  things 
for  granted.  We  recently  discovered  a  new  and 
beautiful  tree  with  dark,  rich,  glossy  foliage, 
springing  up  from  the  sidewalk,  so  we  took  our 
stand  beneath  it,  Casabianca-like,  with  a  Spartan 
resolve  that,  come  one,  come  all,  this  tree  should 
flee  from  its  firm  base  as  soon  as  we,  until  we 
discovered  its  name,  and  there  we  stood,  cour- 


OAKLAND  83 

teously  inquiring  of  every  passer-by,  the  thick,  the 
thin,  the  short,  the  tall,  of  childhood  and  old  age, 
all  of  whom,  with  true  Western  cordiality,  regretted 
to  the  depths  of  their  kind  hearts  that  they  were 
unable  to  serve  us  in  some  way,  but  alas,  they 
couldn't  unless  they  could,  could  they  ?  One  lady 
confessed  to  having  lived  opposite  the  tree  for  a 
dozen  years,  .she  knew  a  tree  stood  there,  but  had 
"never  thought,"  what  kind  of  a  tree  it  was,  so,  as 
we  couldnt  spend  the  night  in  the  street,  we  at 
last  moved  on,  as  ignorant  as  before. 

The  social  atmosphere  of  Oakland  is  genial, 
quiet,  restful  and  receptive  to  the  advanced 
thought  of  the  day.  For  this  and  many  other 
reasons  the  traveller  is  induced  to  cast  anchor  in 
this  calm  haven  and  taste  the  rare  pleasure  of  a 
long  sojourn  in  this  lovely  place,  indeed  a  life-sen 
tence  could  be  delightfully  served  out,  here.  The 
climate,  while  not  so  mild  in  winter  as  southern 
resorts,  knows  no  sultry  weather  in  mid-summer. 
Its  sky  is  often  blue  and  serene  when  a  small 
hurricane  is  blowing  through  the  streets  of  the 
larger  city  across  the  bay.  There  is  a  beautiful 
lake  in  the  eastern  part  of  Oakland  surrounded  by 
handsome  villas,  and  in  every  direction  there  are 
the  most  enticing  walks  and  drives,  one  of  espe 
cial  charm  leading  out  to  Piedmont,  situated  as  its 
name  implies,  on  the  foot-hills  of  the  Contra  Costa 
range.  A  more  magnificent  view  than  the  one  ob- 


84  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

tained  from  this  height  can  hardly  be  imagined. 
Oakland  lies  at  our  feet  like  a  crescent  moon  ;  just 
beyond,  Alameda  stretches  her  long  arm  into  the 
blue  bay ;  on  the  further  shore  of  this  broad  ex 
panse  of  waters,  San  Francisco  sits  on  her  many 
hills,  while  others  still  higher  rise  behind  her. 
From  our  vantage  ground  we  can  look  straight 
through  the  Golden  Gate,  in  whose  royal  portals 
the  white  masts  of  coming  and  departing  vessels 
are  tipped  with  flame  in  the  light  of  the  setting 
sun,  which  makes  a  long  lane  of  glory  between 
the  green  islands  of  this  inland  sea.  What  peace 
rests  upon  it !  What  diverse  craft  here  find  an 
chorage  !  At  present  there  are  Her  Britannic 
Majesty's  flag-ship  Swiftshire,  our  own  Charles 
ton,  in  virgin  white  from  stem  to  stern,  a  French 
man-of-war,  and  the  Chinese  mail  steamer,  to 
gether  with  sloops,  whalers,  ferry-boats  and  tugs 
innumerable,  plying  busily  in  every  direction. 

And  as  we  gaze,  thought  reverts  to  two  depart 
ures  which  these  calm  waters  have  recently  wit 
nessed.  In  the  early  hours  of  a  smoky  morning 
as  we  sat  reading  in  the  cabin  of  a  ferry,  a  sudden 
shriek  from  our  whistle,  followed  by  a  succession 
of  piercing  toots  brought  us  to  our  feet  to  see  what 
disaster  was  pending,  when  behold,  close  at  hand 
lay  the  Japan  steamer,  Oceanic,  with  a  tug  at  her 
side  receiving  on  board  a  small  piece  of  woman 
hood  which  then  sped  away  for  the  Oakland  rnole, 


OAKLAND  85 

where  a  special  train  awaited  the  arrival  of  Nelly 
Ely.  A  narrow  strip  of  marsh  land  was  all 
which  the  fair  traveler  beheld  of  this  glorious 
neighborhood,  in  her  race  against  time  and  the 
advertising  interests  of  her  enterprising  employ 
ers,  but  then  —  she  will  return. 

The  other  young  woman,  who  with  a  different 
kind  of  bravery  stepped  on  board  the  Australia  at 
high  noon,  bound  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  goes 
to  return  no  more.  The  brick  walls  of  San  Fran 
cisco  as  they  vanished  from  her  gaze,  comprised 
the  last  large  city  which  Sister  Rose  Gertrude 
(Miss  Fowler)  will  probably  ever  see,  as  her  self- 
imposed  exile  among  the  lepers  is  for  life. 

A  cloud  of  smoke  which  is  seldom  lifted  hangs 
above  San  Francisco,  but  tree-embowered,  garden- 
fringed,  flower-crowned  Oakland  invites  the  admir 
ing  eye  to  linger  long  and  tenderly  upon  all  her 
verdant  beauty,  her  broad  level  streets  and  beauti 
ful  homes.  We  heartily  voice  the  apostrophe  of 
that  strange  genius,  poet,  and  large-hearted  man, 
Joaquin  Miller,  who  from  his  almond-grove  on  a 
contiguous  height  looks  down  upon  this  fair  city 
and  craves  no  other  retreat : 

"  Thou  Rose-land  !     Oak-land,  thou  mine  own  ! 

Thou  Sun-land !     Leaf-land !     Land  of  seas 
Wide  crescented  in  walls  of  stone  ! 

Thy  lion's  mane  is  to  the  breeze! 
Thy  tawny,  sun-lit  lion  steeps 
Leap  forward  as  the  lion  leaps ! 


86  THE  ROUND  TRIP 


Be  this  my  home  till  some  fair  star, 

Stoops  earthward  and  shall  beckon  me ! 

For  surely  Godland  lies  not  far 

From  these  Greek  heights  and  this  great  sea. 

My  friend,  my  lover,  trend  this  way; 

Not  far  along  lies  Arcady." 


THE  RAINY  SEASON  Sj 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE    RAINY    SEASON 

WE  have  heard  that  the  difference  between 
the  wet  and  the  dry  season  in  California 
is  that  in  summer  it  never  rains,  but  sometimes 
does,  while  in  winter  it  is  expected  to  rain,  but 
usually  does  not.  In  Southern  California  we 
found  it  the  prevalent  custom  of  the  elements 
to  rain  at  night  and  clear  off  brightly  each  morn 
ing,  but  this  particular  rainy  season  has  dis 
counted  the  memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant, 
and  broken  California's  record  for  30  years.  We 
are  glad  to  have  seen  it,  and  to  know  what  "a  hard 
winter"  is  like,  in  this  locality.  We  have  been 
amused  when  reference  has  been  made  here  to  the 
tough  weather  for  it  is  nothing  more  than  we  are 
accustomed  to,  the  year  round,  in  New  England. 
There,  we  never  enjoy  week  after  week,  month 
succeeding  month  of  perpetual  unclouded  sun 
shine,  as  it  is  the  rule  to  expect  in  this  golden 
land.  Consequently,  when  a  series  of  showers 
follow  one  another  here,  or  two  or  three  rainy 
days  occur  in  one  week,  the  wet  weather  is  be 
yond  precedent.  But  the  rain  is  never  frozen, 


88  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

there  are  no  snow  drifts  to  wade  through  with 
chilled  toes  and  frost-bitten^  ears,  no  chilling 
blasts,  no  leafless  trees,  or  seared  lawns.  Flow 
ers  bloom  on,  and  green  ivy  runs  rampant  over 
fences,  door-posts,  and  arches. 

In  higher  altitudes  of  this  broad  state,  where  the 
rain  has  been  frozen,  in  the  mountain  passes  and 
gorges  of  the  Sierra,  where  snow  and  ice  have  held 
potent  sway,  the  winter  that  is  now  passing  will 
long  be  remembered.  For  seventeen  days  we  had 
no  communication  with  the  Eastern  states.  Water 
in  one  form  made  a  barrier,  which  all  the  force  of 
water  in  its  most  potent  form  could  not  overthrow. 
It  was  a  contest  between  ice  and  steam  with 
myriad  snow-flake  battalions  as  daily  re-enforce 
ment  for  the  enemy.  The  victory  was  finally  won 
by  the  strong  sinewy  muscle  of  brawny 'arms  with 
a  resolute  will  to  direct  them. 

And  now  the  winter,  or  the  rainy  season  is  con 
sidered  past.  The  voice  of  the  spring  is  already 
heard,  the  hills  that  surround  San  Francisco  and 
Oakland  are  assuming  the  most  delicate  tints  of 
emerald  green.  Daily,  as  we  watch  them,  we  see 
this  living  tide  creep  higher  and  higher  up  the 
slopes,  and  dip  down  into  the  numberless  dimples 
and  dales  of  the  verdant  range,  reflecting  the  light 
at  such  different  angles,  holding  also  such  wealth 
of  shade  that  the  effect  is  that  of  a  huge  chame 
leon.  Wild  flowers  begin  to  appear  abundantly. 


THE  RAINY  SEASON*  89 

Large  bunches  of  fragrant  violets  are  seen  on  the 
street,  and  the  beautiful  acacia  trees,  of  which 
there  are  countless  varieties,  are  a  mass  of  bril 
liant  bloom.  All  this  is  very  unlike  Februarys 
which  we  have  known,  and  prevents  our  fullest 
commiseration  with  the  natives  over  the  hardest 
winter  they  have  ever  experienced.  Fields  of 
wild  mustard  have  donned  their  yellow  caps, 
showing  also  varieties  with  white  and  with  laven 
der  blossoms.  The  prevalence  of  yellow  however, 
in  all  wild  flowers  is  very  noticeable.  Symbol  of 
light  —  God's  first-born  —  it  is  also  the  color- 
emblem  of  Wisdom.  Blue,  which  symbolizes 
Truth,  is  rarest  in  the  floral  kingdom,  as  indeed 
is  its  correspondence  in  a  world  so  rife  with  error 
that  it  has  not  yet  solved  Pilate's  old  query : 
"What  is  truth." 

The  winter  has  afforded  us  in  this  neighborhood 
two  new  years'  celebrations,  one  arranged  and  de 
creed  by  old  Father  Thomas  and  the  other  al 
manac  makers,  which  was  observed  in  regular 
Fourth  of  July  fashion,  with  fish-horns  and  bells 
and  parties  of  young  people  going  from  house  to 
house  and  singing  the  night  away  under  friendly 
windows  ;  the  other  (decided  by  the  new  moon) 
occurred  a  fortnight  later,  in  Chinatown,  with  a 
great  popping  of  fire-crackers  and  explosive  bombs, 
with  decorations  and  an  unearthly  din,  called  by 
courtesy  music,  with  much  feasting  and  social 


9O  THE  ROUA^D    TRIP 

interchange,  the  Chinese  women  for  this  one  day 
in  all  the  year  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  abject 
slavery — think  of  that  my  free-born  (unmarried) 
sisters — and  looking  exactly  as  if  they  had  just 
stepped  from  off  a  fan.  Mongolian  gents  were 
seen  with  light  pea  green  silk  trousers  belted 
in  at  the  ankle,  a  pink  tunic  and  blue  sleeveless 
jacket  outside  of  all.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  the 
passage  of  Time  was  appropriately  observed. 

Since  that  festive  date,  our  great  and  glorious 
United  States  government  has  shown  its  valor 
and  prowess  by  deliberately  strangling  the  life  out 
of  one  half-witted  little  Chinaman,  too  foolish  to 
understand  the  nature  of  his  crime,  or  the  justice  (?) 
of  his  sentence,  his  only  remark  on  hearing  the 
verdict  being  "  Me  go  back  Chinee,  all  samee." 
Following  the  execution,  scores  of  little  news 
boys  at  an  age  which  should  exemplify  the  inno 
cence  of  childhood,  were  employed  to  shout 
through  the  streets  every  detail  of  the  revolting 
spectacle,  which  brutal  and  degrading  recital  sows 
in  susceptible  hearts  the  seeds  of  a  harvest  of 
crime  which  this  country  will  inevitably  some  day 
reap.  No  murder,  judicial  or  otherwise,  ever  en 
courages  righteousness  of  thought  or  action. 

The  first  excursion  party  to  register  at  the 
Palace  Hotel  from  Pasadena,  recently  arrived  and 
report  a  charming  winter  at  The  Raymond,  where 
everything  is  done  for  the  amusement  and  enter- 


THE   RAINY  SEASON  9 1 

tainment  of  its  patrons.  Especially  was  this  true 
of  the  merry  Christmas  tide.  On  Christmas  eve 
a  tree  was  prepared  on  the  little  stage  of  the  large 
auditorium.  A  real  live  Santa  Claus  came  down 
from  his  polar  retreat,  and  drove  his  sleigh  and 
span  of  real  Shetland  ponies  into  and  around  the 
brilliantly  lighted  ball-room,  gay  with  its  decora 
tions  and  the  festive  toilettes  of  the  lords  and 
ladies  there  assembled.  Alighting  at  the  foot  of 
the  tree,  he  summoned  two  silver-winged  fairies  to 
his  side,  and  through  their  fleet  aid,  distributed  a 
beautiful  gift  to  every  guest,  after  which  dancing 
and  feasting  were  enjoyed  to  a  late  hour.  Every 
evening  during  that  week  and  the  next  had  its 
well-arranged  programme  of  games,  tableaux,  con 
certs  and  hops. 

These  newly-arrived  friends  gave  fragrant  proof 
that  the  orange  and  lemon  groves  of  Pasadena  are 
now  in  blossom.  The  buds  of  the  lemon  are 
quite  mauve  in  tint,  although  the  open  flower  is  as 
snowy  white  as  its  more  popular  sister. 

Everywhere  in  California  at  all  seasons,  the 
Eastern  visitor  notes  with  surprise  the  abundance 
of  time  which  the  resident  has  on  his  hands.  How 
plainly  we  recall  the  nervous  tension,  pressure, 
and  strain  of  that  Boston  atmosphere,  the  con 
stant  endeavor  to  crowd  a  few  more  duties  into  an 
already  over-full  day,  in  this  easy-going  land  where 
nothing  and  nobody  ever  hurries,  where  even  the 


92  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

business  world  does  not  bestir  itself  to  break  its 
fast  until  an  hour  which  the  New  England  house 
wife  would  pronounce  "  shiftless,"  when  even  the 
cobbler  who  is  needed  to  adjust  one's  boot-heel 
cannot  be  found  on  duty  till  midway  of  the  fore 
noon.  We  doubt  if  a  dog  ever  caught  a  cat  in  this 
latitude ;  we  certainly  have  never  seen  one  try. 
Perhaps  they  are  too  courteous,  a  quality  so 
marked  in  their  exceedingly  polite  owners. 

The  same  air  of  elegant  leisure  characterizes  the 
management  here  of  the  postal  department.  King 
Wanamaker's  business  requires  no  haste  in  this 
country.  A  letter  recently  mailed  in  San  Fran 
cisco  to  a  friend  three  or  four  streets  away,  was 
delivered  after  an  interval  of  two  days  and  nights. 
Mail  seems  to  be  regarded  with  supreme  indiffer 
ence  by  the  resident,  who  would  accept  the  receipt 
of  an  important  letter  to-morrow,  as  complacently 
as  to-day.  In  two  southern  cities  in  this  State 
where  papers  and  pamphlets  have  accumulated 
beyond  the  convenience  of  the  carriers,  they  (the 
papers,  not  the  carriers)  have  been  deliberately 
burned  in  open  bonfire,  or  dumped  into  ths  bay, 
a  disregard  for  private  preference,  or  the  import 
ance  of  current  literature,  which  the  transient 
tourist  takes  unkindly. 


SONOMA    COUNTY  93 


CHAPTER   XV 

SONOMA    COUNTY 

IT  is  less  in  the  large  cities,  where  specimens  of 
every  nation,  clime  and  tongue,  with  all  con 
ceivable  amalgamations  compose  their  cosmo 
politan  element,  than  in  the  outlying  districts, 
the  fertile  valleys,  or  old  mining  sections,  that 
typal  California  can  best  be  studied.  The  next 
county  north  of  San  Francisco,  comprising  the 
Russian  river  and  other  valleys,  is  a  vast  garden 
in  its  productiveness,  while  it  abounds  in  grand 
and  picturesque  scenery.  It  is  a  great  fruit-bear 
ing  region,  and  its  chief  industries  are  the  canning 
of  fruits  and  the  manufacture  of  wines. 

To  visit  this  valley  we  take  a  little  steamer  at 
her  dock  in  San  Francisco  and  sail  up  the  bay 
along  the  city's  water  front,  past  cannon-bristling 
Alcatraz,  in  sight  of  the  Presidio,  crossing  the  road 
way  to  the  Gate  through  which  the  bland  wind 
blows  fiercely  and  the  rough  waves  rock  our  boat 
like  a  cradle,  still  on  by  the  little  bay  village  of 
Saucelito,  a  veritable  Downer's  Landing  for  pic 
nickers  and  yachtsmen,  though  unlike  the  latter 


94  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

resort  it  is  built  up  and  down  the  steep  sides  of  a 
green  hill ;  on  the  other  hand  passing  the  military 
station  on  Angel  island,  most  perfect  in  all  its  ap. 
pointments  even  to  the  little  white-spired  church 
half  discernible  above  the  tree-tops,  until  we  reach 
Tiburon  where  we  take  the  train  to  continue  our 
delightful  journey  by  land. 

The  first  stopping-place  of  note  is  San  Rafael, 
the  Nahant  for  Frisco's  wealthy  merchants.  It  is 
a  pretty  place,  with  its  fine  residences  almost  hid 
den  by  tall  trees,  and  its  large  and  handsome 
Hotel  Rafael.  From  this  point  the  ascent  of 
Mount  Tamalpais  can  be  made,  an  imposing  sum 
mit  which  rears  its  head  2000  feet  above  the  bay 
and  commands  a  wide-extended  view  of  land  and 
ocean,  of  cities,  towns  and  sister  mountain  heights. 
From  this  point,  after  the  eclipse  of  four  tunnels 
of  considerable  length,  we  emerge  into  the  verdant 
Russian  river  valley  of  Sonoma  county,  and  skirt 
its  graperies,  now  trimmed  back  to  the  stump 
though  soon  to  become  fields  of  luxuriant  foliage, 
blossom  and  fruit,  we  pass  almond  orchards  in 
fullest  pink  and  white  bloom,  wild  oak  groves 
whose  branches  are  hung  with  long  festoons  of 
Southern  moss,  hill-sides  covered  with  a  thick 
growth  of  the  evergreen  mazanita  and  madrona 
trees,  while  back  of  these  rise  the  higher  coast 
range  and  the  Napa  mountains. 

At    Petaluma,  so  many  homes  are  surrounded 


SONOMA    COUNTY  95 

with  acacia  trees  in  flower,  each  illumined  by  the 
warm  western  sun,  that  the  town  seems  a  mass  of 
woolen  yellow  snowballs  as  we  speed  by.  Large 
huge  mills  are  here,  and  a  very  rich  territory  sur 
rounds  the  place  whose  products  have  a  double 
egress  to  the  world's  commerce,  since  a  narrow 
inlet  from  San  Pablo  bay  affords  sloop  navigation 
to  this  point. 

We  do  not  pass  through  Sonoma,  where  a  U.  S. 
garrison  was  maintained  until  1851,  and  at  which 
place  the  Bear  Flag  was  raised.  On  the  occasion 
of  a  recent  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  the  original 
flag  was  taken  from  its  glass-case  in  the  Pioneers' 
hall  in  San  Francisco,  was  carried  to  Sonoma, 
where  attached  to  a  piece  of  the  old  pole  it  was 
once  more  flung  to  the  breeze.  One  imagines  that 
the  old  grizzly,  so  crudely  represented  on  the  ban 
ner  must  wonder  what  has  become  of  all  his  com 
panions,  once  so  common  in  this  region,  during 
his  long  Rip  Van  Winkle  nap.  The  stars  and 
stripes  were  first  hoisted  by  Gen.  Fremont  at 
Monterey,  July  /th  1846,  from  which  date  the 
commercial  history  of  the  state  begins. 

Santa  Rosa,  which  holds  the  county  seat,  is  the 
prettiest  town  in  this  vicinity.  It  claims  a  popu 
lation  of  10,000,  and  has  an  interesting  legend 
connected  with  its  christening.  Soon  after  the 
founding  of  the  Mission  of  San  Rafael  in  1847, 
Friar  Amorosa  started  forth  in  search  of  natives 


96  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

whom  he  could  by  force  of  arms  convert  to  the 
true  faith.  He  met  with  only  one  stray  Indian 
maiden,  who  was  wandering  alone  near  the  site  of 
the  present  town.  This  girl  was  seized  by  the 
zealous  Father,  dragged  by  that  exponent  of  mus 
cular  Christianity  to  an  adjacent  creek  and  forci 
bly  baptized  as  Santa  Rosa.  Her  tribe  aroused 
by  the  outcry,  and  not  duly  appreciating  this  en 
ergetic  effort  for  her  sanctification,  obliged  the  de 
vout  proselyter  to  flee  to  the  shelter  of  the  Sonoma 
mission,  and  history  is  silent  concerning  the  future 
career  of  the  dusky  heathen  maid,  save  that  her 
pretty  name  was  given  to  the  settlement  which 
soon  arose  in  this  locality. 

Healdsburg,  the  next  place  of  importance,  a 
sleepy  little  town,  is  situated  at  the  fork  of  Rus 
sian  river  and  Dry  Creek,  a  tributary  whose  turbu 
lent  flow  at  this  season  belies  its  name.  There  is 
here  a  pretty  wooded  eminence,  named  Fitch 
mountain  for  one  of  the  early  settlers,  and  more 
imposing  heights  beyond  skirt  the  horizon.  The 
extinct  volcano  of  Mt.  St.  Helena,  4,850  feet  high, 
though  situated  in  Napa  county  is  a  prominent 
landmark,  and  bears  evidence  by  the  ermined 
mantle  which  now  drapes  its  shoulders  that  its 
once  fiery  heart  is  cold  and  still,  yet  lava  deposits 
in  various  sections  of  the  valley  give  silent  witness 
of  former  activity.  On  its  summit  also  can  be 
found  sea-shells  and  other  tokens  of  a  submarine 


SONOMA    COUNTY  97 

experience  which  it  has  known,  whose  details  no 
pen  will  ever  describe. 

Another  height  is  known  as  Geyser  Peak,  at 
whose  base  are  found  the  only  geysers  in  Cali 
fornia.  To  visit  these  we  continue  our  journey 
northward  to  Cloverdale,  whence  a  long  stage- 
drive  over  a  mountain  road  too  narrow  for  the 
passage  of  but  one  vehicle,  except  in  rare  instances, 
(at  which  points  we  naturally  share  the  solicitude 
of  the  old  lady  who  wanted  to  turn  out  and  wait 
until  a  team  came  by),  conveys  us  to  our  destina 
tion.  Whether  this  terminus  can  be  called  Para 
dise  or  Purgatory,  we  have  not  determined. 
Grandeur  and  beauty  of  scenery  above  and  round 
about  us ;  below  a  wild  mountain  gorge  whose 
trail  can  be  followed  a  mile  or  more,  or  as  far  as 
the  soles  of  one's  boots  can  endure  the  unwonted 
temperature  of  mother  earth,  whose  usually  placid 
breast  throbs,  and  trembles,  mutters,  moans  and 
puffs  in  tumultuous  unrest.  We  have  never  seen 
her  in  this  mood  before.  Her  gnomes  are  in  re 
bellion,  or  are  holding  high  carnival  with  elfish 
imps  from  some  nether  world.  But  their  frolic  is 
less  boisterous  than  it  was  some  years  ago,  their 
natural  ebullition  having  been  quelled  by  the 
visiting  vandals  who  have  dropped  stones  in  these 
natural  craters  and  tunnels,  and  thus  diverted  the 
upheaval  into  other  channels. 

In    some   of   these   geysers,    large    stones   and 


98  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

sticks  are  blown  aside  like  bits  of  paper.  Some 
eject  only  vapor,  others  have  a  regular  pulsating 
action  like  machinery,  notably  one  known  as  the 
devil's  grist-mill.  There  is  also  the  witches'  caul 
dron,  and  the  devil's  ink-stand,  filled  with  the 
blackest  liquid,  often  borne  away  in  vials  by  tour 
ists  to  inscribe  their  names  therewith  upon  the 
hotel  register.  There  are  springs  and  basins  of 
every  color,  temperature,  taste,  smell  and  chem 
ical  property.  There  are  gentle  moans  and  loud 
explosions,  quiet  and  forceful  eruptions,  and  every 
manner  of  expression  of  Nature's  forceful  energy. 

There  is  also  in  Sonoma  county  a  petrified  for 
est,  the  trees  lying  in  two  tiers  over  a  tract  a  mile 
in  extent,  the  largest  single  tree  measuring  68  feet 
in  length  by  n  feet  in  diameter.  When  found, 
they  were  covered  with  volcanic  ashes  and  atoms 
of  silica. 

Large  stories  are  told  in  this  region  of  the  days 
when  agricultural  interests  were  sacrificed  to  those 
of  mining,  and  the  prosy  occupation  of  farming 
found  few  adherents,  when  gold  dust  became  the 
most  plentiful  commodity  and  three  dollars  worth 
of  it  was  often  paid  for  a  watermelon,  seven  dollars 
for  an  onion  (!)  and  a  similar  price  for  a  quart  of 
potatoes.  To  this  day  vegetables  are  far  scarcer 
than  fruit. 


THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY  99 


CHAPTER   XVI 

THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY 

WHY  San  Jose  should  be  known  pre-eminently 
as  the  Garden  City  in  this  land  of  gardens, 
or  why  it  should  wear  that  distinctive  title  was  not 
quite  clear  to  our  minds  until  we  remembered  it 
received  this  christening  before  Pasadena  was 
born,  and  also  until  we  saw  this  productive  Santa 
Clara  valley  where,  it  is  estimated,  there  are  more 
fruit  orchards  than  in  any  other  county  of  equal 
area  in  the  republic.  It  is  also  a  great  centre  for 
strawberries,  and  for  vegetables  of  all  kinds ; 
indeed,  the  land  for  miles  around  is  one  vast 
garden. 

The  road  leading  thither  from  San  Francisco 
runs  through  a  fertile  territory  now  in  its  fairest 
dress,  the  cultivated  fields  climbing  far  up  the 
hillsides,  the  young  grain  making  delicate  shades 
of  contrast  in  the  chromatic  scale  of  green,  while 
near  at  hand  our  course  passes  through  extensive 
olive  and  almond  groves.  Cherry  orchards  also 
abound,  their  leaves  so  lusty  in  size  and  thickness, 
the  trees  so  altered  in  manner  of  growth  by  early 


IOO  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

and  systematic  pruning,  from  the  scraggy  shapes 
we  remember  that  they  almost  defy  recognition. 

The  city  of  San  Jose  (pronounced  San  Hosay) 
has  numerous  attractions,  and  is  regarded  as  the 
Yankee  town  of  the  West,  so  many  Eastern  peo 
ple  having  settled  here.  It  was  founded  Nov.  29, 
1777,  by  15  people,  and  was  once  for  a  short  time, 
the  capital  of  the  state.  It  is  now  an  educational 
centre,  the  State  Normal  School  occupying  here 
27  acres  of  lawn  and  flowers,  with  roses  in  fullest 
bloom  climbing  its  brick  walls.  Located  here  also 
are  the  Santa  Clara  (Catholic)  College,  the  Con 
vent  of  Notre  Dame,  and  the  University  of  the 
Pacific.  Business  also  thrives  and  it  is  proposed 
eventually  to  cut  a  canal  through  to  this  point,  to 
advance  the  commercial  interests  of  this  fruitful 
region  by  giving  increased  outlet  for  its  valuable 
products.  We  heard  the  usual  story  of  one  potato 
that  was  dug  in  this  vicinity,  which  made  further 
excavation  unnecessary  for  the  cellar  of  the  house 
erected  on  its  site,  and  as  California  houses  very 
rarely  possess  a  cellar  of  any  description,  we  gave 
ready  credence  to  the  flattering  tale.  As  a  rule, 
both  potatoes  and  apples  are  here  inferior  to  those 
grown  on  Eastern  farms. 

The  visitor  to  San  Jose"  receives  the  welcome  of 
an  expected  guest  at  the  Hotel  Vendome  which 
though  smaller  than  other  noted  hostelries  of  this 
state,  is  perhaps  thereby  the  more  cheery  and 


THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY  IOI 

home-like.  One  feels  on  entering  as  if  he  had 
always  lived  there  and  was  in  no  haste  to  move  on. 
This  home-like  atmosphere,  impossible  to  describe, 
but  so  potently  sensed,  is  still  further  enhanced  by 
a  natural  environment  which  is  charming  and  rest 
ful.  The  hotel,  which  is  a  handsome  building  of 
modified  Gothic  architecture,  its  fagade  divided  by 
projections  into  five  sections,  edged  by  broad 
verandas,  sits  in  a  pretty  park  where  the  sun 
plays  hide  and  seek  with  the  shadows  which  the 
trees  cast  on  the  velvet  lawn,  while  the  air  is  soft 
and  balmy  as  June.  The  tree  trunks  are  covered 
to  the  upper  branches  with  a  thick  green  mass  of 
clinging  ivy,  and  at  their  base,  seats  are  placed  to 
enhance  the  comfort  of  the  loiterer. 

There  are  delightful  drives  in  this  vicinity,  one 
to  the  Willows,  a  resort  named  for  the  trees  which 
here  abound  in  a  beauty  and  luxuriance  of  foliage, 
a  richness  of  emerald  tint,  an  airy  grace  in  the  car 
riage  of  their  flowing  draperies  which  we  have 
never  seen  them  wear  before.  There  is  also  the 
suburb  of  Santa  Clara  with  its  ancient  mission, 
reached  by  a  shady  drive  through  the  Alameda, 
which  is  Spanish  for  a  road  bordered  by  tall  trees. 

But  the  chief  attraction  of  San  Jose  is  of  course 
Mount  Hamilton  with  the  Lick  Observatory  upon 
its  summit,  and  a  visit  thither  is  an  experience 
unique  and  delightful  beyond  description,  a  pleas 
ure  never  thereafter  to  be  forgotten. 


IO2  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Money  is  an  excellent  commodity,  if  its  posses 
sor  owns  with  it  a  generous  heart  and  an  unselfish 
desire  to  benefit  humanity.  In  various  sections 
of  this  neighborhood  we  have  met  evidences  of 
James  Lick's  benevolence,  but  his  greatest  gift, 
the  crowning  act  of  his  life  was  the  bequest  of 
$700,000  for  this  valuable  contribution  to  modern 
science.  In  his  early  life,  while  accumulating  in 
So.  America  the  nucleus  of  his  large  fortune,  he 
became  associated  with  a  Spanish  priest  who  in 
their  out-door  life,  deeply  interested  the  prospec 
tive  millionaire  in  the  study  of  astronomy,  and 
then  and  there  was  formed  in  the  mind,  of  this 
reticent  young  man,  the  resolve  to  provide  hitherto 
unparalleled  advantages  for  the  advancement  of 
this  noble  science.  It  may  be  that  his  most  ec 
centric  economy  had  this  noble  end  in  view,  as 
indeed  that  early  disappointment,  in  his  only 
affaire  du  cceur  with  the  miller's  daughter,  was 
conducive  to  an  unencumbered  estate,  with  whose 
disposal  no  legal  claimant  could  interfere. 

Mount  Hamilton  is  situated  between  two  ridges 
of.  the  Coast  range,  in  a  locality  and  at  an  altitude 
most  favorable  for  observation  and  study  of  the 
heavens.  To  mount  to  its  summit  and  descend  in 
one  day  and  night,  usually  conveys  to  the  tourist 
an  idea  of  excessive  fatigue,  and  people  are  often 
slaves  to  their  expectations.  They  saturate  their 
minds  with  thoughts  of  weariness,  place  anxious 


THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY  1 03 

sentinels  on  the  outposts  of  their  consciousness  to 
watch  for  its  first  approach,  and  these  fears  are 
consequently  realized.  Those  travellers,  on  the 
contrary,  who  are  so  in  harmony  with  Nature  that 
her  grand  and  beautiful  lessons  serve  as  a  perpet 
ual  tonic,  filling  the  mind  so  full  of  gladness  that 
it  cannot  hold  thoughts  of  physical  suffering,  hap 
pily  escape  this  painful  bondage.  The  ascent  of 
Mt.  Hamilton  is  one  prolonged  feast  of  enjoyment, 
and  a  constant  surprise.  We  had  heard  that  the 
road  which  winds  its  tortuous  course  along  these 
mountain  ridges  had  been  built  at  the  expense  of 
$80,000  and  seven  years  of  time,  that  it  was  mac 
adamized  all  the  way,  and  was  everywhere  wide 
enough  for  the  passage  of  two  teams,  but  we  were 
not  prepared  to  rise  to  an  altitude  of  4,448  feet 
without  ascending  even  one  hill,  without  climbing 
even  one  steep  grade  where  the  strained  muscles 
and  panting  struggles  of  our  four  horses  should 
make  painful  draughts  upon  our  sympathies.  Ev 
erything  unpleasant  is  eliminated  from  this  most 
perfect  mountain  drive. 

Starting  at  noon  from  San  Jose  and  reaching  its 
suburbs,  we  gradually  wind  about  the  lowest  foot 
hills  and  along  their  slopes,  rising  at  times  about 
six  feet  in  one  hundred  until  this  beautiful  Santa 
Clara  valley  is  unrolled  beneath  us  like  a  rare 
mosaic  of  brilliant  color  and  graceful  outline.  The 
fields  are  thickly  dotted  with  flowers,  the  California 


IO4  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

poppy  predominating ;  Flower  of  Gold,  the  Mexi 
cans  called  it,  known  to  our  Eastern  gardens  as 
Escholtzia,  from  a  General  bearing  that  name, 
who  landed  at  Monterey  on  the  first  ship  which 
entered  that  bay.  But  in  our  small  cultivated 
clumps  we  cannot  catch  the  satiny  sheen  which 
forms  a  chief  charm  in  the  masses  of  these  flowers 
which  the  wind  sweeps  over.  As  we  ascended, 
the  type  of  wild  flowers  changed,  each  family  true 
to  its  own  habitat,  rarely  found  above  or  below 
its  own  chosen  limits,  and  mostly  new  acquaint 
ances  in  the  floral  kingdom,  though  we  recognized 
varieties  of  delphinium,  and  of  cyclamen. 

While  still  enjoying  this  beautiful  valley  view,  a 
sudden  turn  in  our  winding  course  hides  it  from 
sight  and  we  see  it  no  more.  Neither  is  that 
white  dome  on  the  far  distant  summit  which  is 
our  goal,  any  longer  visible.  A  city  set  on  a  hill 
can  be  hid  by  more  adjacent  peaks,  and  for  a  long 
hour  we  are  hemmed  in  by  gorges  and  wooded 
heights  that  afford  a  constant  variety  of  wild  and 
romantic  scenery  until  Smith's  Creek  is  reached, 
where  a  little  mountain  inn  provides  refreshment 
for  the  hungry  traveller.  From  this  point  the 
Observatory,  which  seems  to  withdraw  itself  far 
ther  and  farther  away  as  we  pursue,  is  in  an  almost 
perpendicular  position  above  us,  and  still  seven 
miles  away,  but  easily  and  gracefully  that  marvel 
lous  road  curves  round  and  round  across  the  face 


THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY  1 05 

of  the  mountain  like  a  piece  of  serpentine  braid, 
until  nearer  the  summit  it  encircles  the  height 
three  times,  and  even  on  the  final  grade  reaches 
only  the  incline  of  thirteen  feet  to  a  hundred. 

J 

We  drove  up  to  the  door  of  this  imposing  tem 
ple  of  science  just  before  seven,  in  time  to  see  a 
glorious  sunset,  and  to  catch  its  reflection  from 
San  Francisco  Bay,  miles  to  the  north  of  us. 
Still  farther  northward  on  a  clear  winter's  morn 
ing,  Mt.  Shasta  is  visible,  as  well  as  other  king 
doms  of  this  world  and  the  glory  of  them.  The 
visitor  to  the  Observatory  can  always  be  sure  of  a 
hospitable  welcome  and  painstaking  effort  for  his 
entertainment,  even  though  the  kind  hosts  must 
find  it  wearisome  to  answer  the  same  queries  and 
repeat  so  often  the  same  explanations  and  informa 
tion. 

Saturday  evening  is  set  apart  each  week  as  the 
only  opportunity  for  the  public  to  gaze  through 
the  great  36-inch  telescope,  hitherto  the  largest  in 
the  world,  though  we  hear  its  bigger  brother  is 
even  now  in  the  skillful  hands  of  the  Messrs. 
Clark.  To  have  reception  night  happen  on  the 
first  quarter  of  the  moon,  (the  most  favorable 
time  for  observation)  and  under  a  perfectly  clear 
sky  was  our  rare  good  fortune.  Passing  from  the 
vestibule,  we  entered  the  large  dome  with  a  feel 
ing  of  awe,  as  if  we  stood  in  the  presence  of  roy 
alty,  for  towering  far  above  us  was  the  monster 


IO6  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

steel  tube  with  its  giant  eye  poised  aloft,  scanning 
searchingly  the  mysteries  of  unfathomed  space. 
We  could  not  help  also  a  feeling  of  neighborly 
kinship  for  the  glass  which  by  some  occult  and 
mysterious  method  reached  such  perfection  in 
distant  Cambridge,  away  down  there  at  the  foot 
of  Brookline  street,  where  the  crooked  Charles,  in 
uncertain  mood  flows  both  ways,  lapsing  lazily 
back  and  forth  in  its  allegiance  to  the  sea.  We 
even  congratulated  this  most-worshipful-grand 
master  lens  on  having  exchanged  the  pungent 
marsh  odor  of  that  locality  for  the  pure  ether  of 
this  heaven-kissed  height. 

Wonderful  was  it  to  see  the  mammoth  dome  re 
volve  with  such  ease  under  the  direction  of  the 
presiding  genii  of  the  place,  who  with  skillful 
touch  also  directed  the  telescope  toward  our  satel 
lite  which  held  that  evening  high  court  in  heaven. 
And  how  did  it  look  ?  Well,  very  like  its  photo 
graph,  with  much  the  unnatural  whiteness  and 
flowery  appearance  of  plaster-of-paris,  honey 
combed  as  it  is  with  volcanic  craters.  We,  of 
course,  improved  this  auspicious  occasion  to  look 
intently  for  the  man  in  the  moon,  but  it  must 
have  been  his  night  out,  for  we  failed  to  discover 
him. 

Leaving  this  lunar  audience  chamber  we  de 
scended  to  the  crypt  below,  where  is  the  ma 
chinery  which  under  hydraulic  pressure  furnishes 


THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY  1 07 

the  power  to  move  the  dome.  It  was  a  gruesome 
place,  its  darkness  only  partially  penetrated  by  our 
one  lantern,  and  here,  in  the  massive  brick  ma 
sonry  which  supports  the  telescope  and  dome,  is 
the  tomb  of  James  Lick.  Strange  mausoleum ; 
a  resting-place  austere,  peculiar  and  unique  as  was 
his  life,  but  what  more  fitting  monument  than  this 
princely  instrument  which  rises  from  his  breast, 
the  culmination  of  a  life-long  purpose,  like  the 
aloe's  mighty  stem  which  blossoms  late,  but  over 
tops  all  lowlier  growths.  Shall  not  this  king  of 
telescopes  serve  also  as  cenotaph  for  another  noble 
man  and  devotee  of  science,  even  that  revered  son 
of  Cambridge  —  Alvan  Clark  ? 

We  next  visited  the  smaller  dome  where  the 
12-inch  telescope  was  focused  upon  the  planet 
Saturn,  and  the  kind  and  patient  professor  gave  a 
running  commentary  on  all  the  marvels  which  we 
saw.  Most  beautiful  of  all  the  heavenly  bodies, 
especially  serene  fair  Saturn  seemed  to-night  with 
six  of  her  attendant  moons  visible,  and  her  golden 
rings  casting  deep  shadows  upon  the  planet,  from 
the  light  of  that  same  sun  which  also  outlined  the 
mountain  peaks  upon  the  moon's  surface,  and 
which  we  had  seen  disappear  so  recently  from  our 
horizon,  although  we  caught  its  last  luminous 
beams  from  the  roof  of  this  observatory,  the 
highest  point  we  have  ever  reached.  The  build 
ing  is  constructed  with  double  walls  of  brick  to 


IO8  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

secure  evenness  of  temperature,  and  the  bricks 
were  made  from  a  clay  bed  found  fortunately  near 
the  summit. 

Other  wonderful  instruments  here  abound. 
There  are  comet-seekers,  earthquake-recorders, 
the  transit  instrument,  which  furnishes  that  uncer 
tain  quantity  —  time,  for  the  whole  Pacific  coast, 
as  far  east  as  Ogden ;  there  is  the  delicate  Merid 
ian  Circle  instrument  for  determining  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  stars,  and  many  more.  We 
listened  with  breathless  interest  to  our  young 
chaperon's  delineation  of  these  marvels,  we  nod 
ded  (we  hope)  in  all  the  right  places,  and  dragons 
shall  never  draw  from  us  the  confession  whether 
or  not  our  intelligent  comprehension  of  their 
intricate  mechanism  is  perfect  and  complete. 
Photography  is  also  a  feature  here,  and  the  long 
corridors  are  lined  with  most  interesting  solar  and 
planetary  views. 

When  at  last  our  visit  to  this  enchanting  place 
was  ended  and  we  stood  on  the  broad  door-stone 
ready  for  departure,  can  we  ever  forget  the  scene 
outspread  before  us  ?  Above,  the  wide  expanse 
of  star-lit  heavens,  though  from  our  lofty  perch  it 
seemed  less  above  us  than  a  part  of  us.  At  the 
horizon  shy  Mercury,  so  rarely  seen  by  city  resi 
dents,  shone  with  ruddy  glow  accompanied  by  the 
paler  lustre  of  our  well-known  Venus.  Opposite, 
majestic  Orion  kept  up  his  eternal  chase  after 


THE  LICK  OBSERVATORY 


Taurus,  the  Pleiades  hung  nearer  the  zenith,  while 
the  moon's  gentle  radiance  silvered  the  whole 
atmosphere  and  the  great  world  of  mountain, 
valley,  and  forest,  lying  calm  and  silent  at  our 
feet  ;  it  outlined  the  path  our  descending  course 
must  take,  and  how  merrily  we  bowled  along  its 
almost  parallel  terraces,  turning  366  sharp  curves 
under  the  trained  eye  and  practiced  hand  of  a 
driver  in  whom  we  placed  implicit  trust. 

But  how  that  road  did  hold  out,  to  be  sure  ! 
Leaving  the  summit  at  8.30,  stopping  only  once 
to  change  horses,  alighting  here  for  a  brief  mid 
night  stroll,  (and  for  a  most  congenial  interview 
with  the  wayside  dog)  we  beheld  as  we  neared  the 
valley  a  new  scene  of  beauty,  a  sea  of  fog  beneath 
us,  which  under  the  magical  touch  of  moonlight, 
seemed  a  frozen  sea  of  ice,  the  dark  outlines  of  the 
foot-hills  serving  as  capes  and  promontories 
around  which  the  white  billows  had  congealed. 
We  could  readily  imagine  that  our  charioteer  had 
transported  us  to  the  North  pole,  (we  thought  we 
discerned  one  end  of  it  from  the  lofty  perch  we 
had  just  left)  but  as  we  descended,  fair  Luna 
slowly  drew  a  misty  veil  across  her  face,  it 
thickened  until  we  saw  her  no  more,  or  the 
electric  lights  on  the  towers  of  San  Jose.  But 
terra  firma  was  reached,  and  at  I  A.  M.  we  entered 
the  Vendome,  where  a  delicious  and  dainty  lunch 
awaited  us,  a  refreshing  sleep,  after  which  we 


HO  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

awoke,  without  a  vestige  of  fatigue,  to  the  calm 
beauty  of  Sabbath  morning,  and  to  the  heartfelt 
thanksgiving  that  a  new  treasure  was  henceforth 
hung  in  memory's  priceless  gallery. 


SANTA    CR  UZ  —  MONTE  RE  Y  HI 


CHAPTER   XVII 

SANTA    CRUZ MONTEREY 

THE  narrow-gauge  route,  leading  from  San 
Jose  to  the  city  of  the  Holy  Cross,  runs 
through  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  indeed  at 
times  through  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  long  tun 
nels  being  a  feature  of  this  road,  but  for  the  major 
portion  of  the  journey,  the  scenery  is  both  grand 
and  picturesque.  We  look  skyward  for  the  tops 
of  the  loftiest  peaks,  gaze  down  into  wild  gorges 
many  feet  below  us,  send  quick  glances  into  the 
canons  which  we  hurry  by,  and  gain  many  charm 
ing  perspectives  both  ahead  and  behind  our  wind 
ing  path.  The  mountain  slopes  are  at  this  time 
literally  purple  with  the  plentiful  wild  lilac  which 
makes  soft  contrast  with  the  fresh  ferns  and  dark 
pines  towering  above  them.  From  the  valleys, 
narrow  paths  lead  up  to  our  level,  made  by  the 
feet  of  burros  who  carry  on  their  backs  and  sides 
huge  loads  of  wood  from  the  clearings  below  to 
the  waiting  freight  cars. 

Five  miles  this  side  of   Santa  Cruz  the  road 
skirts  the  edge  of  the  Big  Tree  grove,  and  here 


112  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

we  alight,  for  although  these  are  not  the  noted 
big  trees  of  the  Mariposa  and  Calaveras  groves, 
they  are  a  most  interesting  group  and  well  repay 
a  visit,  especially  as  they  possess  an  historical 
association,  being  the  old  camping  ground  of  Gen. 
Fremont,  and  the  hollow  base  of  one  of  these 
monarchs,  which  still  bears  his  name,  he  for  some 
time  made  his  head-quarters. 

The  redwood  tree  is  found  from  the  Oregon 
line  to  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains.  North  of 
these  boundaries  is  the  Oregon  cedar,  south  of 
this  point,  the  Monterey  cypress  is  indigenous. 
The  redwood's  manner  of  growth  is  to  send  up  a 
multitude  of  surrounding  shoots  which  eventually 
unite  with  the  parent  stem  whose  great  size  is 
thus  due  to  conglomeration.  All  stages  of  this 
process  can  be  observed  in  a  stroll  through  the 
twenty  or  more  acres  of  this  natural  temple.  The 
largest  single  tree,  known  as  Giant,  is  some  twenty 
feet  in  diameter,  its  height  is  300  feet,  and  its  cir 
cumference  is  paced  by  thirty-seven  masculine 
strides.  In  one  of  the  Three  Sisters,  standing 
side  by  side,  a  stove  is  placed  for  the  use  of  pick- 
nickers  to  this  resort,  but  a  majority  of  the  trees 
are  not  hollow,  being  still  it  would  seem  in  the 
freshness  of  youth.  Alone  and  apart  from  his 
'fellows  towers  Daniel  Webster,  a  single  tree,  but 
less  interesting  than  the  groups  of  trees  which 
spring  from  one  base.  The  finest  of  these  bears 


SANTA    CR  UZ  —  MONTE  RE  Y  113 

the  incongruous  name  of  Col.  Ingersoll's  Cathedral 
and  consists  of  eight  central  trunks,  surrounded 
by  ten  smaller  ones,  all  united  to  a  point  above 
the  ground  that  makes  a  climb  to  some  of  their 
numerous  intersections  only  moderately  easy. 
Another  group  of  brothers  has  received  the  name 
of  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  one 
more  recently  christened  is  known  as  Pres.  Harri 
son,  in  which  his  wife  is  quite  as  large  as  he,  and 
little  baby  McKee  stands  close  by.  The  foliage 
of  the  redwood  is  very  like  our  hemlock,  only  that 
it  is  borne  higher  aloft.  There  is  a  pleasant  and 
interesting  undergrowth  in  the  grove,  including 
yellow  violets,  and  a  new  variety  of  white  violet, 
with  deep  crimson  eyes. 

The  curving  line  of  the  Bay  of  Monterey  is 
nearly  duplicated  by  "the  mountain  range  20  miles 
inland,  and  in  this  pleasant  sunny  strip  of  terri 
tory,  Santa  Cruz  is  situated.  It  is  a  quiet  sea- 
coast  town,  with  pretty  residences  and  gardens, 
and  attractive  shops  which  display  shells,  delicate 
mosses,  and  other  treasures  of  the  sea.  There  are 
two  miles  of  beautiful  beach  within  the  city  limits, 
and  in  the  cliffs  beyond,  the  first  sculptor,  Nep 
tune  has  carved  grottoes  and  natural  bridges,  which 
richly  reward  a  drive  thither,  although  this  natural 
curiosity  does  not  equal  the  beauty  of  La  Jolla  on 
the  San  Diego  shore.  Congress  has  been  recently 
petitioned  to  provide  a  breakwater  for  this  pleas- 


114  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

ant  bay,  that  vessels  may  here  find  safe  and  com 
modious  anchorage.  On  certain  days  a  little 
steamer  crosses  from  Santa  Cruz  to  Monterey,  but 
to  skirt  the  coast's  crescent  outline  by  rail  is  a 
three  hours'  journey. 

The  lethargic  little  town  of  Monterey  is  the 
quaintest  place  we  have  visited  since  Santa  Fe. 
It  is  one  of  the  towns  where  we  have  to  rouse 
ourselves  occasionally  to  make  sure  we  are  not 
dreaming.  The  locality  was  first  " discovered"  in 
1602,  when  Vizcaino  landed  here  and  took  posses 
sion  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Philip  III.  of 
Spain,  naming  it  in  honor  of  the  Viceroy  of  Mex 
ico,  Caspar  de  Zuniga,  Count  of  Monterey,  who 
was  projector  of  this  northern  cruise.  Over  160 
years  later,  still  prior  to  our  birth  as  a  nation,  the 
hitherto  unbroken  silence  of 'this  primitive  region 
was  stirred  by  another  inscription  on  history's 
page,  the  founding  of  the  old  Carmel  Mission  by 
Father  Serra,  president  of  the  band  of  Franciscan 
missionaries.  The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slow, 
but  with  unerring  purpose  toward  the  advance 
ment  of  the  race  and  the  survival,  of  the  fittest. 
So  Monterey  at  last  witnessed  the  Franciscan 
downfall,  and  eventually  the  first  establishment  in 
California  of  U.  S.  authority,  Gen.  Fremont  fling 
ing  to  the  breeze  in  July,  1846,  from  a  flag-staff 
still  preserved,  that  emblem  of  progress  and  free 
dom,  the  stars  and  stripes.  Many  of  Monterey's 


SANTA    CR  UZ  —  MONTE  RE  Y  115 

residents  are  still  of  Spanish  blood  and  their 
homes  bear  that  distinctive  national  type,  many 
being  built  of  adobe  and  in  some  instances  sur 
rounded  by  high  walls,  which  roses  clamber  over. 
The  old  one-story  Spanish  theatre  still  stands, 
though  now  used  as  a  storehouse. 

Two  miles  beyond  Monterey,  upon  a  promon 
tory  of  the  bay,  stands  pine-shaded  Pacific  Grove, 
originally  selected  as  the  annual  camp-ground  of 
the  Methodist-Episcopal  conference,  but  so  de 
lightful  did  the  site  prove  that  a  town  of  two 
square  miles  has  since  sprung  up  with  hotels, 
schools,  and  a  thriving  population,  greatly  in 
creased  in  summer  by  the  anniversary  exercises 
of  various  societies  of  all  denominations. 

But  the  tourist  is  not  drawn  to  this  locality  by 
any  of  these  attractions.  He  comes  chiefly  and 
solely  to  visit  the  Hotel  del  Monte,  in  comparison 
with  which  everything  else  sinks  into  insignifi 
cance.  One  approaches  the  description  of  this 
charming  place  with  reluctance,  realizing  his  utter 
inability  to  do  it  justice,  the  meagre  inadequacy 
of  the  most  unabridged  vocabulary  of  adjectives 
to  portray  its  loveliness.  However  free  a  rein  be 
given  to  the  reporter's  superlative  pen,  exaggera 
tion  is  still  impossible.  This  world  in  itself  known 
as  Del  Monte,  is  situated  a  mile  and  a  quarter  this 
side  of  Monterey  in  a  natural  forest  of  pines  and 
live-oaks,  this  environment  suggesting  its  name, 


Il6  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

the  word  monte  in  Spanish  being  applied  to  either 
forest  or  mountain,  so  that  the  title  is  literally 
Hotel  of  the  Forest.  The  building  alone  is  beau 
tiful,  with  its  wide  rambling  facade,  its  long  an 
nexes  on  either  side  with  their  gracefully  curved 
.connecting  corridors,  and  makes  with  its  floral 
surroundings,  the  fairest  of  pictures,  when  viewed 
in  chance  sections  through  some  opening  in  the 
tree  branches  as  we  ramble  through  the  grounds. 
Within,  the  hotel  is  far  more  cosy  than  a  place  of 
such  vast  extent  is  apt  to  be  ;  its  reading  and 
writing-room  might  serve  as  a  family  library,  its 
drawing-room  is  most  inviting  and  restful.  The 
dining-room  is  more  imposing,  being  large  enough 
to  seat  500  people,  and  its  table-service  of  white 
frosted  silver,  suitably  engraved  "  El  Monte," — 
The  Forest — is  of  the  finest  description.  There 
is  not  an  unpleasant  room  in  the  house,  and  every 
where  an  almost  painful  neatness  prevails.  And 
ah  !  what  sleep  comes  to  the  traveller  here  !  The 
nights  are  a  blank,  a  refreshing  plunge  in  Lethean 
oblivion  until  the  birds  with  enticing  call  lure  us 
to  an  early  walk  beneath  the  umbrageous  shades 
which  they  have  chosen  to  inhabit.  The  mocking 
bird  is  common  here,  also  the  blue  jay  with  his 
jaunty  comb. 

Setting  forth  to  explore  these  wondrous  grounds, 
whose  outer  boundaries  we  may  not  hope  to  fathom, 
a  wrong  direction  can  hardly  be  taken,  nor  is  there 


SANTA    CRUZ— MONTEREY  117 

possibility  for  its  attractions  to  become  monotonous. 
There  is  everywhere  such  variety  of  charm,  such 
novelty,  brilliancy  and  beauty.  The  diversity  of 
floral  display  has  no  limit.  There  are  ribbon  beds 
and  borders  where  every  separate  plant  has  its 
hair  parted  exactly  in  the  middle,  and  not  an  eye 
lash  is  suffered  to  grow  astray.  There  are  more 
tangled  plats  where  brilliant  effects  are  produced 
by  masses  of  contrasting  colors.  There  are  places 
set  apart  exclusively  for  rose  culture,  others  for 
camelia  japonicas ;  in  one  bed  we  counted  fifty 
different  varieties  of  calceolaria,  each  one  hand 
some  enough  to  exhaust  a  dozen  exclamation 
points,  and  there  is  one  large  section  devoted  en 
tirely  to  the  culture  of  cacti  of  all  kinds,  many  of 
them  displaying  the  oddest  most  oriental-looking 
blossoms.  All  of  these  126  acres  of  cultivated 
garden  are  heightened  in  charm  by  intervening 
stretches  of  beautiful  green  lawn,  by  lofty  trees 
wreathed  with  ivy  garlands,  and  from  whose 
branches  green  moss  hangs  pendant,  while  masses 
of  flowering  myrtle  surround  their  base.  A  maze 
is  planted  in  the  ground,  formed  of  tall  cypress 
hedges,  from  which  if  the  explorer  ventures  too 
far  he  is  liable  to  call  lustily  for  assistance  in 
emerging.  Another  feature  is  >a  large  lake,  the 
"  Laguna  del  Key  "  (Lake  of  the  King)  with  a 
pleasant  drive  about  it,  bordered  all  the  way  by 
shrubs  and  the  silvery  plumes  of  pampas-grass; 


Il8  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

boats  are  also  provided  for  the  guest  to  float  at 
will  on  these  placid  waters. 

Space  fails  to  enumerate  all  the  attractions  of 
this  sylvan  retreat,  but  among  them,  and  one  of 
the  proper  things  to  do  is  to  take  the  Seventeen- 
mile  Drive,  a  road  that  includes  a  succession  of 
beautiful  views,  both  inland  and  of  the  ocean,  also 
a  visit  to  Monterey,  Pacific  Grove  and  the  Carmel 
Mission.  Inspiring  scenes  all,  but  on  returning 
to  the  winding,  shady  avenues  of  the  Del  Monte 
we  experience  a  fresh  delight  which  is  almost  a 
surprise  that  the*  place  is  so  surpassingly  lovely. 
Can  anything  else  compare  with  it  ?  Does  any 
thing  like  it  exist  on  this  planet  ?  Can  even 
Paradise  be  fairer  ?  If  so,  we  hope  the  angel  of 
Life,  whom  men  call  Death,  will  not  tarry  too 
long. 


TO   THE    YO  SEMITE  119 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

TO    THE    YO  SEMITE 

TO  spend  a  season  in  California  and  not  visit 
the  valley  of  the  Yo  Semite  is  to  witness  the 
play  of  Hamlet  with  the  omission  of  its  title-role. 
To  go  or  not  to  go  ?  That  was  the  question.  It 
was  an  easy  matter  to  decide,  the  trip  seemed  an 
easy  thing  to  accomplish  ;  the  very  affable  agent 
of  the  Berenda  route  thither,  at  his  office  in  San 
Francisco,  makes  of  the  journey  by  his  glowing 
rhetoric  an  enjoyable  pastime,  he  smooths  every 
difficulty  from  the  tourist's  path,  allows  him  to 
select  the  seat  he  prefers  in  the  photographed 
stage-coach  with  its  three  spans  of  prancing  steeds. 
He  paints  the  scenery  with  masterly  touch, 
portrays  the  unprecedented  grandeur  of  the 
waterfalls  after  this  winter  of  unusual  severity, 
unblushingly  declares  the  existence  of  new  cat 
aracts,  and  other  remarkable  features  never  known 
before  in  the  memory  of  man,  with  other  fictions 
of  his  fertile  imagination  which  leaves  our  pre 
vious  hesitancy  and  doubt  as  to  the  advisibility  of 
so  early  a  visit  to  the  mountains  without  a  leg  to 


120  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

stand  upon.  If  he  had  asked  us  to  sign  away  our 
entire  fortune  we  should  not  have  demurred,  and 
certainly  the  mere  bagatelle  of  the  ticket's  com 
pensation  it  was  quite  a  condescension  for  him  to 
relieve  us  of.  The  stage  fare  is  only  $50.00  for 
the  round  trip  (a  slight  discount  being  made  to 
Raymond  and  Whitcomb  proteges)  ;  $7.00  more 
pays  the  railway  transit  to  and  from  the  stage 
terminus,  and  as  to  the  slight  incidentals  —  but 
let  us  herewith  draw  a  veil. 

The  start  is  made  from  San  Francisco  at  sunset 
on  the  Los  Angeles  train  which  however  drops  us 
at  midnight  on  a  side  track  at  Berenda.  The 
cessation  of  motion,  with  the  noise  and  jerks  of 
disconnecting  the  car  arouses  the  traveller  who 
after  waiting  an  hour  or  two  for  something  else  to 
happen,  lapses  into  uneasy  slumber  only  to  be 
again  disturbed  by  the  arrival  of  the  engine  which, 
with  the  customary  snorting  and  explosive  puffs, 
attaches  itself  to  take  us  to  Raymond,  by  which 
recent  growth  of  the  railroad,  the  stage  route  has 
been  cheated  of  twenty  miles. 

From  this  point  the  tourist  sacrifices  all  further 
personal  choice  of  his  comfort,  or  hours  of  rest 
and  action.  He  is  no  longer  a  free  agent.  Fore- 
ordination  and  pre-destination  absolute  are  the 
rules  of  his  being,  the  only  authority  recognized 
in  this  locality  being  the  supreme  omnipotence  of 
the  Yo  Semite  Stage  and  Turnpike  Company.  It 


TO  THE    YO  SEMITE  121 

arranges  his  down-sitting  and  uprising  and  regu 
lates  his  thoughts  afar  off,  for  no  bullet  is  ever 
sped  from  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  with  surer  aim, 
more  unswerving  purpose,  or  with  much  greater 
speed  than  the  tourist  is  propelled  in  and  out  of 
that  Valley.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  rising 
hour.  Accordingly  we  must  be  up  and  dressed 
after  our  broken  night,  with  every  toilet  detail 
finished  by  6  A.  M.,  when  the  matutinal  appetite 
must  also  be  on  deck  ready  for  action,  for  it  is 
thenceforth  necessary  that  the  traveller  eat  his 
dollar's  worth  at  irregularly  appointed  intervals. 

Breakfast  over,  the/bwr-horse  stage  drives  up  to 
receive  its  load  and  we  eye  it  askance.  We  have 
heard  from  friends  who  had  made  prior  visits  to 
the  Valley,  of  the  comfortable  stages  used  on  this 
route,  of  their  canopied  tops  that  serve  as  much 
needed  screen  from  the  rays  of  California's  sun. 
Earlier  specimens  of  the  genus  stage  may  have 
been  comfortable ;  we  occupied  one  of  a  newer 
style.  The  canopy  was  there,  in  fact  we  made 
caput-al  acquaintance  with  it  at  certain  points  in 
our  ride  quite  as  often  as  we  tested  the  springs  (?) 
of  the  seat.  The  stage  had  four  seats,  the  back 
seat  upholstered  wjth  enamelled-cloth  all  the  way 
down  ;  the  middle  seat  with  its  minimum  amount 
of  motion  ;  the  front  seat,  easier  than  the  rear  but 
with  a  restricted  range  of  view ;  and  the  much 
coveted  seat  with  the  driver,  hot  and  sunny  but 


122  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

having  the  advantage  of  a  wide  spread  landscape 
and  the  most  entertaining  conversation  of  the 
charioteer  who  is  always  a  stuffed  encyclopaedia  of 
information,  of  stories  and  legends,  some  of  them 
perhaps  having  a  shadowy  foundation  of  truth. 
The  drivers  are  as  a  rule  careful,  obliging  and 
good-natured,  all  rules  of  course  being  marked  by 
exceptions.  The  horses  are  well  fed,  well  taken 
care  of,  are  in  good  flesh  despite  their  daily  toil, 
and  are  frequently  changed  ;  they  are  all  duly  and 
appropriately  christened,  Type-setter,  Pile-driver 
and  Charley  Ross  being  members  of  our  team. 
The  coaches  —  perhaps  we  mentioned  these  vehi 
cles  before  but  the  subject  is  a  fertile  one  —  are 
strong  and  thoroughly  well-made  in  their  running 
gear,  comfort  being  sacrificed  here  to  substan 
tiality,  but  their  interior  is  crude,  cheaply  fin 
ished,  with  no  provision  even  of  straps  suspended 
from  its  roof  to  steady  the  helpless  passenger.  A 
good  smart  Yankee  would  renovate  these  vehicles 
with  many  comfortable  and  helpful  appurtenances. 
At  present,  they  are  most  unbearable  even  when 
standing  still. 

But  we  load  into  this  commodious  lumber- 
wagon  and  set  forth  by  a  narrow  circuitous  moun 
tain  road,  in  an  atmosphere  radiant  and  redolent 
with  purity,  brilliancy  and  all  sweet  odors.  The 
breath  of  the  hills  is  blown  to  us,  the  blossoms  of 
the  valley  waft  upward  their  fragrance.  Gradu- 


TO    THE    YO  SEMITE  12$ 

ally  we  rise,  winding  round  sloping  hillsides,  from 
whose  vantage  ground  we  look  down  into  verdant 
fields  and  charming  valleys.  Unfamiliar  wild 
flowers  line  the  roadside  with  many  old  favorites 
including  several  varieties  of  lupin,  blue  and  pink 
and  white,  the  vermilion  painted  cup,  and  vivid 
mountain  pink,  large  bushes  of  the  wild  white 
lilac,  and  of  the  buckeye  bearing  aloft  their  white 
panicles  as  do  our  horse  chestnuts  at  home  ;  and 
here  also  we  made  our  first  acquaintance  with  the 
mariposa  lily,  or  butterfly  tulip,  in  white  and 
lemon  and  deep  yellow  with  large  brown  spots  on 
each  of  the  three  leaves  forming  its  fragile  cup. 
On  and  still  on  we  wind,  soon  gaining  glimpses 
of  snow-capped  mountains  so  far  away  on  the 
horizon  that  we  cannot  conceive  our  course  in 
cludes  those  distant  heights,  that  any  route  not 
threaded  by  steam  could  include  so  long  a  trip, 
but  we  learn  that  those  misty  summits  com 
prise  only  the  first  "divide";  the  first  night  of 
our  journey  being  spent  beyond  those  snowy 
peaks.  At  our  second  change  of  horses,  we  pass 
a  quartz  mill  where  the  mountain  has  been  tun 
nelled  for  the  precious  ore  and  the  fair  face  of 
nature  has  been  frequently  scarred  by  the  pros 
pector's  spade  as  he  for  a  time  follows  a  false  lead. 
We  pass  the  lively  Fresno  river  and  also  an  artifi 
cial  log-flume  built  on  tall  trellises  for  55  miles  to 
convey  timber  from  the  wooded  hills  down  to 


124  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

marketable  levels.  Some  of  the  hills  which  we 
pass  have  a  peculiar  topography  being  ridged 
lengthwise  by  a  series  of  undulating  swells,  divided 
by  parallel  hollows  about  20  feet  apart,  as  if  the 
hillside  had  once  served  as  a  leviathan  graveyard. 
At  our  fourth  change  of  horses — Grant's  Sulphur 
Springs — we  stop  to  enjoy  the  generous  lunch 
awaiting  us,  and  a  short  rest. 

Our  afternoon's  task  is  to  climb  by  slow  and 
painful  degrees  to  the  summit  of  Chow-chilla 
peak,  near  which  as  we  reach  it,  a  wonderful  view 
is  obtained  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  (the  light 
sedge  grass  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  vast 
desert),  of  the  Coast  range  beyond,  and  of  one  little 
dark  spot,  so  far  away  as  to  be  almost  invisible, 
which  is  pointed  out  as  the  Raymond  we  left  — 
when  ?  Can  it  be  only  this  morning  that  we  started, 
that  but  a  half  day  has  intervened  between  us  and 
civilization,  since  the  possibility  was  ours  of  occa 
sionally  looking  upon  a  human  habitation  ?  But 
soon,  nearer  the  height,  we  have  a  diverting 
novelty  in  the  form  of  snow-drifts  as  high  as  the 
top  of  our  coach,  though  the  road-bed  is  bare. 

The  summit  is  reached  joyfully,  for  now  we 
begin  the  descent  into  the  valley  where  our  day's 
journey  will  end.  But  such  a  descent !  The 
stage  it  seems  is  behind  time,  the  driver's  reputa 
tion  must  be  preserved  even  at  the  expense  of  the 
necks  or  limbs  of  his  passengers,  and  so  the 


TO    THE    YO  SEMITE  125 

horses,  breathless  from  their  long  hard  pull,  are 
given  free  rein,  are  not  checked  even  at  the 
murderous  water-bars,  or  at  the  rough  places 
where  the  wheels  wallow  in  the  soft  mud  to  their 
hubs  and  the  coach  oscillates  correspondingly. 
What  matters  it  that  the  weary,  worn,  and  sore 
human  freight  are  thrown  violently  from  side  to 
side,  or  against  the  roof,  until  their  necks  are 
well-nigh  dislocated,  what  if  their  breath  is  beaten 
from  their  bodies  by  severe  and  incessant  jounc 
ing,  until  the  only  thought  of  the  hour  is  the 
promise  of  salvation  to  them  who  endure  unto  the 
end,  with  also  the  firm  resolution  if  life  is  spared 
to  reach  home  (which  now  seems  doubtful)  that 
we  will  advise  everbody  to  postpone  their  visit  to 
the  Yo  Semite  until  they  get  to  heaven  and  can 
look  down.  We  recall  the  remark  of  a  dear  lady 
who  declared  that  she  was  never  so  near  her 
Maker  as  when  in  the  Valley.  We  certainly  never 
expect  to  be  so  near  Purgatory  again  as  when  on 
our  journey  thither.  Other  friends  had  assured 
us  that  the  surrounding  scenery  as  we  rode  along 
would  make  us  forget  every  discomfort.  The 
scenery  is  doubtless  grand  hereabouts,  the  mon- 
archs  of  this  forest  among  the  noblest  specimens 
we  have  ever  seen.  We  remember  gaining  fugi 
tive  glimpses,  as  we  came  down  to  the  seat  occa 
sionally,  of  several  trees  reeling  and  swaying 
across  our  spasmodic  vision  like  tipsy  revellers, 


126  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

but  we  neglected  to  speak  of  them,  knowing  our 
tongues  would  be  severed  in  the  attempt.  We 
shall  long  remember  the  descent  of  Chow-chilla  as 
a  needless  outrage  perpetrated  upon  innocent  vic 
tims.  But  our  discomforts  safely  ended  at  night 
fall  when  we  drove  up  to  the  Wawona  Hotel  to 
receive  the  courteous  attention,  the  cleanly  rooms, 
and  excellent  table  always  provided  by  those 
excellent  men,  the  Washburn  brothers.  The 
wonder  is  to  find  anything  to  eat  so  far  away  from 
market,  or  depot. 

The  sleep  of  the  righteous  visits  every  pillow  at 
Wawona,  a  baptism  of  health  and  strength  like 
wise  descends  as  if  from  the  mountains  that  sur 
round  on  every  side  this  cup-like  vale,  the  alchemy 
of  this  rare  elixir  sweetens  the  sorely-tried  dispo 
sition  of  the  disgusted  traveller  and  (as  a  natural 
consequence)  restores  to  freshness  the  storm- 
tossed  frame.  What  luxury  it  would  be  to  lie  in 
the  early  dew-fragrant  dawn  and  let  the  restful- 
ness  and  calm  soak  in  to  one's  consciousness  but  — 
we  are  bought  with  a  price  and  our  purchasers  are 
pro  tern,  our  masters.  We  must  therefore  be 
awakened  at  five,  breakfast  at  six,  and  with 
dread  and  trembling  mount  another  coach  for  the 
drive  thence  into  the  Valley  where  we  are  due  at 
2  P.M.  Will  it,  at  last,  we  wonder  compensate  us 
for  all  this  misery  ?  We  have  ceased  to  ask  re 
garding  distances,  for  miles  mean  nothing  here. 


TO    THE    YO   SEMITE  12  7 

Among  the  fictions  of  the  trip  is  the  statement 
that  the  stage-ride  is  one  of  sixty  miles.  Invert 
the  six  to  approach  nearer  the  truth.  And  how 
do  they  measure  miles  in  these  mountains  ?  We 
learned  this  from  our  truthful  (?)  driver.  A  pack 
of  grayhounds  are  loosed  and  allowed  to  run  until 
they  drop  dead  from  exhaustion,  at  which  point 
the  first  mile  stake  is  placed,  a  fact  which  no 
visitor  to  the  Valley  can  ever  gainsay. 

But  the  ride  of  to-day  is  a  great  improvement 
upon  that  of  yesterday.  Our  driver  is  careful  and 
compassionate,  the  road  is  in  better  condition  and 
the  scenery  is  much  grander  and  less  monotonous. 
Following  for  a  time  the  south  fork  of  the  Mer 
ced,  we  begin  to  wind  about  and  ascend  the  last 
barrier  which  lies  between  us  and  our  goal,  reach 
ing  a  height  of  over  6000  feet,  gaining  along  the 
way,  from  Lookout  and  other  points,  wild  grand 
views  of  deep  gorges  far,  far  below  us  through 
which  the  winding  river  cuts  its  way  between  the 
mountains.  Around  us  is  an  almost  unbroken 
forest  of  sugar  pine,  and  yellow  pine  with  its 
alligator-leather  trunk,  while  every  dead  branch 
and  twig  is  swathed  with  moss  of  living  green, 
so  kindly  does  our  mother  Nature  heal  every 
weund,  and  transform  death  into  beautiful  life. 
Light  growths  are  few,  though  it  is  still  early  for 
flowers  and  ferns,  but  we  see  an  occasional  speci 
men  of  the  wonderful  crimson  snow-plant.  The 


128  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Manzanita  hangs  full  of  pinkish  waxen  blossoms, 
its  branches  so  twisted  and  crooked  that  every 
bush  is  searched  in  vain  for  a  stem  straight  enough 
to  serve  as  a  cane.  This  wood  works  up  very 
beautifully  for  ornamental  veneering. 

At  our  second  change  of  horses  about  noon,  we 
take  the  opportunity  to  run  down  the  road  ahead 
of  the  coach,  for  a  restful  change,  we  inspect  the 
watering  trough,  the  road,  the  trees  which  here 
allow  such  restricted  range  of  view,  when,  speed 
ing  on  lest  the  fresh  horses  overtake  us  too  soon, 
suddenly,  as  if  the  planet  had  dropped  from 
beneath  our  feet,  the  trees  disappeared  on  our 
right,  the  sky  rolled  itself  backward  like  a  scroll 
to  give  space  to  a  vast  army  of  peaks  and  domes 
and  mountains  of  granite,  a  double  row,  the  ver 
dant  gorge  between,  and  we  realized  with  a  gasp 
that  was  almost  pain,  that  we  /were  looking  upon 
the  marvellous  Valley.  We  stood  on  Inspiration 
Point. 

Majestic,  solemn,  awe-some  in  the  massive 
sweep  of  its  gigantic  contours,  in  the  wonderful 
stillness,  the  immovable  calm  that  broods  above 
it,  as  if  here  it  was  that  God  rested  "on  the 
seventh  day  from  all  that  He  had  created  and 
made,  the  heavens  and  all  the  host  of  them." 
There  are  some  moments,  some  experiences  that 
come  to  us  which  are  untranslatable  in  any  human 
speech,  and  this  was  one.  Stirred  to  the  inner- 


TO    THE    YO  SEMITE  129 

most  depths  of  our  being,  where  reverence  and 
humility  stand  side  by  side,  we  resolved,  realizing 
our  impotence,  never  to  commit  the  sacrilege  of 
attempting  to  describe  this  master-piece  of  the 
Creator,  and  we  never  will.  Let  it  be  'written 
alone  on  tables  of  stone. 

How  long  we  might  have  stood  there  had  not 
the  coach  arrived  to  pick  us  up,  we  cannot  say. 
The  driver  kindly  dissected  the  grand  spectacle 
for  us,  letting  us  down  easily  to  ordinary  levels  of 
thought  and  feeling,  and  explained  that  the  mas 
sive  buttress  on  the  left  was  El  Capitan  ;  on  .our 
right  were  the  Three  Graces,  in  the  farthest  dis 
tance,  the  North,  and  South  or  Half-Dome,  as  if 
our  stunned  and  bewildered  consciousness  could 
take  cognizance  of  compass-points  ;  over  there  was 
Cloud's  Rest,  so-called  because  clouds  often  hover 
upon  it  when  other  spots  in  the  Valley  are  clear. 
The  white  ribbon  let  down  several  hundred  feet 
from  one  of  these  heights  is  we  learn  Bridal  Veil 
Fall,  only  to  be  enjoyed  from  a  nearer  view  where 
its  misty  drapery  floats  airily  and  gracefully  as  the 
wayward  zephyrs  frolic  with  its  gossamer  meshes, 
and  especially  when  the  afternoon  sun-beams, 
flooding  it  with  their  prismatic  dyes,  make  of  it  a 
vision  of  loveliness  too  fair  for  earth.  A  smaller 
fall  high  up  on  the  mountain's  face  is  disrespect 
fully  known  as  "  The  Widow's  Tear "  because, 
being  supplied  by  melting  snows,  it  dries  up  in  six 


130 


THE  ROUND    TRIP 


weeks.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Canon  are 
Cascade  falls,  and  the  delicate  pleasing  Ribbon 
fall,  such  airs  and  graces  do  these  stern  ledges 
assume,  such  beauty  do  they  clothe  themselves 
withal.  This  lightness  tempers  somewhat,  as 
does  this  minute  particularization  of  these  varied 
features,  the  deep  emotion,  the  painful  tension 
which  the  sublimity  and  grandeur  of  the  scene 
inspires.  Never  again  do  we  expect  to  read  so 
clearly  in  terrestrial  language  the  mighty  impress 
of  the  Almighty  Hana,  the  tracing  of  the  Infinite 
Sculptor.  It  was  with  a  positive  relief  at  last  that 
we  turned  our  backs  upon  the  mighty  gorge  and 
followed  the  serpentine  trail  down  the  last  steep 
slope  to  the  Valley's  floor.  A  seven-mile  drive  still 
lay  between  us  and  the  hospitable  doors  of  the 
Stoneman  House,  but  with  its  genial  proprietor, 
Mr.  J.  J.  Cook,  as  fellow-passenger,  we  were  nat 
urally  in  no  undue  haste  to  end  our  journey. 

What  a  drive  it  was  !  What  a  revelation  of  our 
own  insignificance,  of  our  utter  incapacity  to  take 
in  such  immensity  with  the  faintest  approach  to 
due  appreciation,  or  the  folly  of  attempting  to 
adapt  our  little  two-foot  rule  of  measurement 
to  this  gigantic  scale.  For  instance,  the  driver 
pauses  to  point  out  a  minute  green  twig  just 
above  a  heap  of  talus,  on  the  side  of  El  Capitan. 
After  careful  inspection  we  at  last  discern  some 
thing  which  might  serve  as  a  doll's  Christmas 


TO    THE   YO  SEMITE  131 

tree,  whereupon  we  are  asked  to  believe  that  by 
actual  measurement  the  tree  is  125  feet  high. 
We  stop  again  to  admire  the  grand  old  Sentinel, 
the  majestic  Cathedral  Spires,  pausing  longest  at 
the  foot  of  the  Bridal  Veil  whose  cool  breath  sug 
gested  to  the  Indian  the  baleful  influence  of  an 
evil  spirit,  Po-ho-no,  which  name  was  given  to 
this  vision  of  indescribable  beauty.  The  cataract 
feeds  three  streams  which  here  seek  the  river,  the 
beautiful  river  of  Mercy  (Merced)  which,  flowing 
through  its  entire  length,  is  not  the  least  charm 
of  the  Valley.  Indeed  were  it  not  for  this  clear, 
limpid  stream,  and  the  beautiful  green  meadows 
with  which  it  surrounds  itself,  the  rich  growth 
which  it  feeds,  the  austere  and  massive  grandeur 
of  the  Valley  would  be  well-nigh  unbearable. 

As  it  is,  the  first  mental  impression  and  one  not 
lifted  until  the  second  day,  is  that  of  overwhelm 
ing  sadness.  The  burden  of  isolation  oppresses 
us.  Heaven  itself  is  not  so  far  away  as  are  we 
from  every  mundane  interest  or  association.  If 
these  stern  gray  ledges  were  not  quite  so  high,  if 
their  magnificent  proportions  could  be  toned  down 
just  a  little  nearer  our  comprehension,  if  the  cata 
racts  were  less  tremendous  in  their  daring  leaps. 

Ah  verily,  what  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful 
of  Him,  or  the  son  of  man  that  Thou  visitest  him 
with  such  revelation  of  Thy  matchless  glory, 
Thy  Creative  Majesty  ? 


132 


THE  ROUND   TRIP 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN    THE  VALLEY 

THE  location  of  the  pretty  Stoneman  House, 
built  by  the  State,  is  well  chosen.  Almost 
the  entire  length  of  the  Valley  must  be  threaded 
to  reach  it,  and  when  there,  the  visitor  is  sur 
rounded  by  most  attractive  points  of  interest.  On 
the  left,  Glacier  point  rises  7000  feet ;  on  the  right 
are  the  Royal  Arches  and  Washington  Tower, 
while  the  grand  Yo  Semite  fall  makes  its  three 
gigantic  leaps  apparently  but  a  stone's  throw  dis 
tant,  although  if  one  wishes  to  make  nearer  ac 
quaintance  with  its  varied  phases  of  beauty  and 
decides  to  stroll  down  the  road  until  he  comes 
opposite  to  this  mighty  cataract,  he  will  continue 
to  stroll  for  some  time  and  approach  no  nearer  to 
its  base  than  when  it  proved  such  an  irresistible 
magnet  from  his  seat  on  the  hotel  veranda.  A 
beautiful  view  can  be  obtained  from  the  rear  of 
Barnard's  hotel,  and  at  this  point  the  majestic 
roar,  with  the  bomb-like  explosions  peculiar  to  this 
fall  are  constantly  heard.  It  is  a  fascination  of 


IN  THE    VALLEY  133 

which  one  never  tires  to  watch  this  ceaseless  mo 
tion,  this  never-wearied  activity,  which  approaches 
the  Goethean  ideal  of  "  imhasting,  unresting,"  for 
in  all  these  cataracts  and  cascades  there  is  a  sug 
gestion  of  laziness  in  their  descent,  until  one  re 
members  the  unrealizable  height  which  their 
waters  span.  They  seem  in  no  hurry  to  leave 
those  solemn  heights  and  join  the  chattering  river, 
they  indulge  in  little  side-escapades,  shoot  out  a 
rocket  here  and  there,  take  time  to  clothe  their 
watery  sheen  with  concealing  mists  and  vapors, 
but  the  great  heart  within  beats  in  true  rhythm 
to  Nature's  mighty  laws,  and  the  key-note  of  their 
grand  symphony  is  in  ascending  scale  like  the 
«  Hallelujah  "  chorus  :  "  For  the  Lord  God  Om 
nipotent  reigneth." 

On  the  hither  side  of  the  Yo  Semite  is  the 
Indian  Canon  up  whose  steep  sides  and  rocky 
debris  the  Yo  Semite  tribe  escaped  when  pursued 
by  the  Mariposa  recruits,  in  May  1851,  on  the  occa 
sion  of  the  first  entrance  to  the  valley  of  any 
white  man.  The  depth  of  this  defile,  its  rough 
and  jagged  features  are  wonderfully  revealed  when 
the  morning  sun  manages  to  smuggle  a  few  of 
his  gilded  beams  into  the  wild  gorge.  In  winter 
the  Valley's  allowance  of  sunlight  is  but  two  hours 
long.  The  name  Yo  Semite,  as  is  well  known, 
signifies  a  great  grizzly  bear,  not  from  any  resem 
blance  which  the  gorge  bears  to  this  animal,  but 


134  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

because  of  a  successful  encounter  in  prehistoric 
times,  of  a  young  chief  with  one  of  these  monsters, 
whom  the  athlete  slew,  though  unarmed,  save 
with  the  dead  limb  of  a  tree.  To  perpetuate  this 
deed  of  prowess,  the  name  of  the  animal  was 
given  as  a  title  of  honor  to  the  young  brave,  was 
transmitted  to  his  children,  and  thus  eventually  to 
the  tribe  which  occupied  the  valley  when  it  was 
discovered. 

Speaking  of  sunrises  reminds  every  Valley 
visitor  at  once  of  the  marvellous  experience  at 
Mirror  lake.  It  is  doubtful  if  anywhere  on  the 
planet  there  is  a  lovelier  spot  than  this  crystal 
sheet  of  liquid  purity,  at  the  base  of  Mt.  Watkins 
especially  in  the  early  dawn  when  it  is  still,  as  the 
Indians  called  it,  a  "  sleeping  water,"  and  not  a 
ripple  has  as  yet  disturbed  its  dreamless  rest.  It 
is  a  visible  expression  of 

"  The  peace  at  the  heart  of  Nature, 
The  light  that  is  not  of  day." 

Clear-cut  as  a  cameo,  the  mighty  peaks  pene 
trate  these  watery  depths,  4000  to  6000  feet  below 
us,  their  scars  and  clefts  repeating  themselves  with 
such  startling  vividness  that  effects  not  noticeable 
through  the  medium  of  the  air  are  plainly  dis 
cerned  through  the  limpid  wave.  Some  discol- 
orations  on  a  crag  a  mile  perhaps  above  us  are  a 
train  of  cars  and  engine  in  that  illusive  nether 
world.  A  clothes-line  with  the  washing  all  hung 


IN  THE    VALLEY  135 

out  so  early  in  the  morning,  is  the  most  realistic 
thing  imaginable.  Entranced  we  stand  on  the 
margin  of  this  crystal  floor  watching  the  marvel 
lous  picture,  noting  its  soft  contrasts  of  light  and 
shade  play  about  those  gigantic  cliffs  beneath  that 
wondrous  distant  sky  ;  we  gaze  longingly  as  an  ex 
iled  Peri  might  stand  outside  the  gates  of  Para 
dise,  and  yearn  in  vain  to  enter.  But  now  a  won 
derful  scene  opens.  A  faint  flush  glorifies  the 
world  at  our  feet,  a  golden  dart  pierces  its  azure 
calm,  another  of  roseate  hue  thrills  'and  warms  the 
scene,  gilding  each  massive  outline  with  a  lumi 
nous  halo,  and  now  quicker  and  faster  the  radiant 
beams  shoot  over  the  slopes  of  yon  granite  moun 
tain  in  the  nadir  realm,  until  the  first  curve  of  the 
great  luminary  is  seen,  higher  and  higher  it  mounts 
till  the  sun  has  gloriously  risen  and  dimmed  that 
enchanted  world  whose  denizens  we  were.  Again 
and  again,  as  we  seek  a  new  position  on  the  mir 
ror's  edge,  is  the  scene  repeated,  while  we  reso 
lutely  turn  the  back  of  our  head  toward  the  zenith 
where  one  generally  looks  for  solar  displays,  and 
gaze  down,  down  thousands  of  feet,  it  would  seem, 
into  the  visionary  and  unreal.  •  How  like  it  is  to 
our  mortal  experience,  where  the  reflection  is  all 
that  our  dull  eyes  discern,  where  we  turn  con 
stantly  away  frojn  the  real  and  the  true,  the  life 
that  is  spirit,  for  the  glamour  of  its  shadow,  which 
must  ever  fade  from  our  perception,  as  the  Sun  of 


136  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Truth    dawns    upon    our    spiritual    consciousness. 

The  trips  which  can  be  made  in  the  Valley  are 
legion,  and  a  week,  at  least  should  be  devoted  to 
them,  though  in  this  connection  it  might  be  well 
to  advise  the  tourist  to  "  put  money  in  his  purse" 
for  to  quote  from  a  witty  commentator,  "  Man 
brought  nothing  into  this  world,  and  if  he  stays 
long  in  the  Yo  Semite  Valley,  it  is  certain  he  will 
carry  nothing  out."  All  that  the  hotels  and  Stage 
Co.  do  not  get,  the  wily  livery  man  will.  *  The 
trails  to  Glacier  Point,  Eagle  Peak  and  Upper  Yo 
Semite  are  at  the  date  of  our  early  visit  not  yet 
open  (the  emphatic  ten-days-old  statement  of  the 
affable  agent  in  San  Francisco  to  the  contrary, 
notwithstanding),  but  the  most  satisfactory  and 
beautiful  of  all  the  excursions  (we  speak  neces 
sarily  from  limited  experience)  is  that  to  Vernal 
and  Nevada  falls. 

The  trail  from  Tis-sa-ack  bridge  along  Grizzly 
Peak,  though  hewn  out  of  solid  rock  is  almost 
wide  enough  for  a  carriage,  and  yet  our  well- 
trained  steed  prefers  a  footing  so  close  to  the 
edge  that  we  seem  to  hang  far  over  the  steep 
precipice,  but  we  do  not*  demur.  We  remember 
that  he  knows  far  more  about  his  business  than 
we  ever  shall,  and  that  if  we  are  born  to  be  hung 
or  drowned  we  cannot  possibly  surfer  harm  on  this 
winding  stair.  The  Mohammedan  fatalism  would 
really  be  an  excellent  travelling  companion,  or 


IN  THE    VALLEY  137 

rather  that  petfect  trust  which  casteth  out  every 
fear,  and  never  under  any  circumstances  knows  a 
shadow  of  trembling.  In  entering  this  grand 
canon,  we  leave  the  Yo  Semite  behind,  having 
Glacier  Pt.  one  of  its  boundaries,  at  our  back,  the 
beautiful  little  Illilouette  fall  high  up  towards  the 
clouds  on  our  right,  towering  ledges  on  either 
side,  and  at  their  base  the  main  current  of  the 
Merced  river  struggling  over  its  rocky  bed.  We 
soon  approach  a  bridge  spanning  the  noisy  stream 
and  turning  to  cross  it,  that  vision  of  beauty,  the 
Vernal  fall  bursts  suddenly,  dazzlingly  upon  our 
view  in  the  near  distance,  and  takes  our  most  ardent 
expectancy  by  surprise.  Gladly  we  dismount  at 
Register  rock  and  clamber  over  and  around  moist 
boulders  to  approach  nearer  the  foot  of  this  crys 
tal  torrent  as  far  as  Lady  Franklin  Rock  to  which 
point,  in  1863,  that  lady  was  carried  in  a  chair. 
Tho  Fall  is  not  very  hospitable  in  its  welcome,  it 
will  not  allow  us  to  reach  the  "  ladders  "  by  which 
it  is  possible  to  climb  to  its  highest  level,  for  it 
drenches  us  and  drives  us  back  by  a  spray  so 
dense  as  to  be  blinding  and  almost  suffocating. 

Returning,  we  again  mount  and  thread  a  zig-zag 
trail  backward,  forward,  and  upward,  this  eques 
trian  procession  forming  three  or  four  tiers  across 
the  face  of  the  mountain,  each  row  being  far  above 
the  next  lower,  when  at  last  reaching  the  highest 
point,  in  a  twinkling  that  takes  one's  breath  away, 


138  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

the  marvellous  grandeur  of  the  Nevada  fall,  and 
that  handsome  dome,  the  Cap  of  Liberty,  bursts 
at  once  upon  our  enraptured  gaze.  There  is  some 
thing  very  imposing  about  this  isolated  height. 
It  is  unique  and  singular,  both  in  shape  and  char 
acteristics.  It  appeals  strongly  to  the  apprecia 
tion  of  the  beholder,  and  aroused  in  us  a  far 
deeper  emotion  than  did  El  Capitan ;  we  could 
never  tire  of  studying  its  grand  proportions.  We 
turn  aside  here  to  visit  the  top  of  the  Vernal  fall, 
where  leaning  over  a  huge  stone  buttress,  a  nat 
ural  balustrade,  we  look  adown  its  wide  expanse 
of  emerald  water  and  diamond  spray  tangled  and 
broken  into  rainbows  far  below,  a  scene  never  to 
be  forgotten.  The  river  here  is  wonderful  in  its 
mad  haste,  its  cascades  and  whorls  and  wild  up 
ward  tossings,  its  Silver  Aprons  and  Emerald 
Pools.  We  followed  the  course  upward,  our 
beauty-loving  hearts  unable  to  absorb  fast  enough 
the  wealth  of  varied  grandeur  that  surrounds  us, 
until  we  reach  the  foot  of  Nevada  fall,  an  appro 
priate  climax  to  a  day  on  which  we  have  touched 
tide-water  of  rarest  enjoyment. 

Beautiful  beyond  suggestion,  grandest,  most 
fascinating  object  in  all  the  Valley,  we  could  sit 
for  hours  and  watch  its  changeful  flow.  The 
whole  Merced  river  here  falls  over  a  mountain  wall 
617  feet  high,  although  the  water  seems  less  to  fall 
than  to  resolve  itself  into  froth  and  foam,  and  float 


IN  THE    VALLEY  139 

out  upon  the  air,  to  wave  silvery  banners  here  and 
there  and  then  pierce  them  with  flying  rockets,  so 
rarely  repeating  the  same  effects  that  the  ob 
server  appreciates  the  appropriateness  of  the  In 
dian  title  which  means  "meandering,"  though 
this  is  the  last  word  one  would  expect  to  find  in  a 
savage  vocabulary. 

"  Now  shining  and  twining, 

And  pouring  and  roaring, 

And  glittering  and  frittering, 

And  gathering  and  feathering, 

And  whitening  and  brightening, 

And  quivering  and  shivering, 

And  dashing  and  flashing  and  splashing  and  clashing, 
And  so  never  ending,  but  always  descending, 
Sounds  and  motions  forever  and  ever  are  blending, 
All  at  once  and  all  o'er,  with  a  mighty  uproar, 
And  this  way  the  water  comes  down  at  Lodore." 

A  house  has  sprung  up  here  (Snow's),  we  hardly 
know  how,  unless  it  grew  through  a  new  law  of  evo 
lution  peculiar  to  this  land  of  wonders.  It  was  not 
yet  open,  so  we  spread  our  lunch  upon  an  adjacent 
rock  and  quaffed  nectar  from  the  clouds,  feasting 
our  eyes  meanwhile  (the  truest  refreshment)  on 
that  lovely  veil  of  silver  sheen,  suspended  across 
the  mountain's  breast,  on  whose  enchanting  grace 
we  hope  sometime  again  to  look. 

Morning  in  the  Yo  Semite  Valley  !  What  a  rare 
experience  to  return  from  the  realm  of  spirit  and 
take  up  again  our  physical  instrument  amid  such 


140 


THE  ROUND   TRIP 


sublimity  of  environment,  to  renew  once  more  our 
conscious  connection  with  the  material  world 
within  the  hidden  fastnesses  of  these  eternal  hills! 
What  a  solemn  hour  it  should  prove,  what  new 
baptism  it  must  impart,  to  strengthen  the  soul  for 
all  sterner  duties  which  await  us !  Is  the  hour 
such  ?  Alas,  no  ;  repose  is  an  unknown  quantity 
in  this  region.  Even  the  border  land  of  dream- 
life  is  invaded  by  the  hurrying  and  skurrying  of 
departing  guests,  and  when  at  last  our  time  ar 
rives,  the  porter's  prompt  reveille  upon  our  door 
puts  a  speedy  end  to  contemplation,  or  devotion. 
At  no  stage  of  the  Yo  Semite  trip  is  an  early  de 
parture  less  imperative  than  for  the  drive  from  the 
Stoneman  House  to  Wawona,  consequently  with 
strange  masculine  inconsistency,  the  hour  fixed  by 
the  "Turnpike"  Medes  and  Persians  is  the  earli 
est  of  them  all.  At  quarter  of  six,  with  valises 
packed,  and  breakfast  bolted,  our  four-horse  team 
(Star  and  Keno,  Girl  and  Sullivan,  who  lacks  as 
yet  the  diamond  belt  of  his  godfather)  stand  paw 
ing  the  ground  at  the  door.  We  mount  and  hurry 
down  the  Valley,  striving  to  impress  indelibly 
upon  our  memories  its  every  feature,  we  pass  from 
its  portals,  climb  again  to  the  summit,  jounce 
down  the  other  side,  and  reach  Wawona  at  one. 
The  mid-day  repast  is  immediately  served  and 
without  a  moment's  opportunity  even  for  custom 
ary  ablutions,  we  are  loaded  into  an  open  vehicle, 


IN  THE    VALLEY  141 

far  easier  than  the  stage  however,  and  are  driven 
away  to  the  Mariposa  grove  of  Big  Trees,  a  spot 
we  have  longed  to  visit,  but  the  Frost  King  hav 
ing  prolonged  his  reign  to  this  unprecedented 
date,  the  snow  still  lies  too  deep  for  the  .custom 
ary  drive  through  the  excavated  heart  of  the  living 
tree,  Wawona.  The  Grizzly  Giant,  claimed  to  be 
the  largest  tree  in  the  world,  is  33  feet  in  diameter 
and  nearly  100  in  circumference.  -Standing 
against  its  mammoth  proportions  the  plumpest 
person  in  our  party  looked  a  child,  this  being 
the  only  way  to  assist  the  eye  to  a  true  meas 
urement  and  realization  of  the  tree's  enormous 
size. 

These  Sequoia  gigantea  are  a  slightly  different 
species  from  the  redwood  of  the  Santa  Cruz 
region,  which  are  classified  as  the  Sequoia  semper- 
virens.  Their  generic  name  was  chosen  to  per 
petuate  the  memory  of  Sequoyah,  a  Cherokee 
chieftain  of  remarkably  advanced  mind,  he  having 
invented  an  alphabet  of  eighty-six  characters  that 
his  tribe  might  have  a  written  language,  the  system 
being  still  in  use.  Our  national  heroes  are  duly 
remembered  in  the  christening  of  the  grove, 
with  some  of  our  scientists  and  poets.  One  tree 
known  as  the  Telescope,  allows  a  range  of  vision 
125  feet  upwards,  its  hollow  trunk  having  been 
burned  out,  but  sap  enough  still  flows  through  the 
shell  to  support  foliage.  Many  of  the  trees  are 


142 


THE  ROUND    TRIP 


thus  marked  by  the  ravages  of  fire.  The  grove  is 
not  composed  wholly  of  these  giant  trees,  the 
growth  being  chiefly  of  different  varieties  of  pine, 
whose  size  elsewhere  would  seem  worthy  of  note, 
and  the  showy  white  blossoms  of  the  dog- wood  are 
also  plentiful. 

The  succeeding  night  is  spent  at  Wawona,  a 
place  with  attractions  of  its  own,  the  beautiful 
Chil-noo-al-na  falls  being  near  by,  with  other 
pleasant  mountain  excursions.  The  studio  of 
Thomas  Hill  located  here  is  an  interesting  place 
to  visit,  its  gallery  of  art-treasures  being  freely 
open  to  all.  The  return  journey  to  Raymond  held 
less  of  the  terrors  which  beset  our  entrance  to  this 
mountain  pass,  for  the  road  had  been  put  in  excel 
lent  order  by  the  faithful  efforts  of  the  road-com 
missioners  aided  by  the  warm  dry  breath  of  old 
Sol.  But  he  was  a  little  too  ardent  in  his  glances 
that  afternoon.  The  heat  for  many  long  hours 
was  intolerable,  we  had  a  foretaste  of  the  dust 
which  smothers  the  tourist  of  a  later  date,  and 
when  at  twilight  the  Raymond  inn  dawned  upon 
our  horizon,  with  some  real  Pullman  cars  awaiting 
us  near  by,  the  sentiment  of  the  party  could  only 
vent  itself  in  the  devout  doxology  "Praise  God 
from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

One  of  the  most  graceful  things  ever  said  of  the 
Yo  Semite  was  inscribed  on  the  hotel  register  by 
James  Vick,  whose  name  is  enshrined  in  the  heart 


IN  THE    VALLEY 


of  all  flower-lovers  the  country  over.  "The  road 
to  Yo  Semite,  like  the  way  of  life,  is  narrow  and 
difficult,  but  the  end,  like  the  end  of  a  well-spent 
life,  is  glorious  beyond  the  highest  anticipation." 
But  far  more  practical  is  the  declaration  of  Hon, 
Thomas  Scott  of  the  Penn.  Central  R.R.  "  If  my 
business  interests  lay  upon  this  coast,  I  would 
build  a  railroad  to  this  truly  marvellous  valley 
within  one  year  from  this  date." 

This  truly  is  the  need  of  the  hour.  The  "  mar 
vellous  valley  "  is  too  far  away.  Candor  compels 
us  to  confess  (for  we  "  cannot  tell  a  lie  ")  that  the 
trip  thither  is  the  most  inhuman  experience  in  the 
world.  With  a  railway  built  even  half  way  to  its 
ponderous  doors,  the  Canon  of  the  Great  Grizzly 
Bear  must  long  remain  the  Mecca  of  every  traveler, 
the  shrine  at  which  all  devotees  of  Nature  will 
reverently  bow. 


144  THE  ROUND  TRIP 


CHAPTER    XX 

HOMEWARD    BOUND 

WHAT  a  glorious  journey  it  is  to  sweep  across 
our  American  continent  from  the  Pacific 
coast  to  Atlantic  shores,  to  climb  over  two  mighty 
mountain  ranges,  cross  a  wide  desert,  to  skirt  the 
borders  of  inland  seas  both  salt  and  fresh,  to  be 
ferried  over  rapidly-coursing  rivers  by  boat  or 
bridge,  to  whiz  along  prairies  that  are  granaries 
vast  enough  for  a  world's  supply,  to  cross  thus  a 
galaxy  of  states  and  territories  with  a  portion  also 
of  Her  British  Majesty's  dominions,  and  to  enjoy 
all  this  from  the  luxurious  environment  of  a  palace- 
car,  where  choice  viands  are  served  with  clock-like 
regularity,  —  what  a  rich  experience  it  is  !  Can 
one  ever  realize  the  tremendous  extent  of  this 
country,  or  its  wonderful  resources,  its  mineral 
and  agricultural  wealth  until  he  views  it  thus  from 
shore  to  shore  ?  And  when  to  other  comforts  is 
added  the  Raymond  espionage  which  means  the 
absence  of  all  care  as  to  the  detail  of  the  long 
journey,  when  with  a  vigilance  that  neither  slum 
bers  nor  sleeps  the  "ubiquitous  Lyon"  numbereth 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  145 

his  wayward  flock  by  name  and  suffereth  not  a 
trunk  to  go  astray  without  his  watchful  notice, 
with  what  peace  we  lay  us  down  and  sleep,  only 
to  wake  to  the  lightness  and  freedom  of  another 
halcyon  day. 

A  possibly  envious  friend  once  said  teasingly 
"no  one  who  has  any  brains  ever  travels  with  the 
Raymonds",  recognizing  thus  the  freedom  from 
anxious  personal  supervision  which  such  excur 
sionist  enjoys.  Blessed  then  are  the  brainless 
ones,  or  those  who  having  used  their  brains  to 
good  purpose  have  earned  now  the  right  to  such 
reposeful  recreation.  Brains  do  not  lie  fallow 
while  travelling.  Plentiful  opportunities  occur  for 
storing  the  mind  with  valuable  information,  every 
hour  suggesting  new  thought,  broadening  the 
range  of  mental  vision,  which  is  all  the  clearer 
because  not  absorbed  in  petty  cares  concerning 
that  which  is  least. 

On  a  warm  sunshiny  afternoon  near  the  close 
of  May  1890,  after  a  long  and  delightful  sojourn 
in  this  fair  Western  land,  we  at  last  with  great 
reluctance  turn  away  from  the  Golden  Gate  and 
set  our  faces  eastward.  The  calm  blue  waters  of 
the  bay  seem  loth  to  ripple  their  last  farewell,  for 
through  inlet  and  cove  they  merge  into  San  Pablo 
bay  and  thence  to  Napa  creek,  where  Vallejo  is 
seen  four  miles  away,  opposite  to  Mare  island,  an 
important  western  naval  station,  a  verdant  spot,  a 


146  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

rendezvous  for  roses  and  trailing  vines  and  leafy 
shades  which  embower  the  officers'  pleasant  homes 
and  make  brilliant  the  hospital  grounds.  In  the 
stream  near  by  is  anchored  Admiral  Farragut's 
flag-ship,  the  Hartford,  disabled  now  and  roofed 
over  to  prevent  further  ravages  of  the  elements. 

At  this  point  we  reach  Port  Costa  and  our 
course  changes  for  before  we  are  aware  our  entire 
train  with  one  other  and  their  two  powerful  en 
gines  are  quietly  transferred  to  the  largest  ferry 
boat  in  the  world  —  the  Solano.  Of  course  every 
one  is  on  deck  at  once,  for  who  ever  knew  a  Ray 
mond  tourist  to  remain  in  his  own  car  one  moment 
after  it  became  stationary,  although  with  equal 
alacrity  he  melts  from  sight  like  the  dew  in  his 
obedient  response  to  the  first  call  "all  aboard." 
Some  twenty  minutes  are  consumed  in  crossing 
the  Straits  of  Carquinez,  and  at  Benicia  we  resume 
our  long  landward  journey,  until  at  dusk  we  reach 
California's  capital  —  Sacramento  —  where  our 
accommodating  intinerary  allows  us  a  stop-over  of 
a  night  and  half-day. 

In  only  eight  instances  in  our  Republic  is  the 
capital  of  a  state  its  metropolis  and  the  capital  of 
California  is  not  its  most  attractive  city.  The 
portion  devoted  to  residences  is  charming,  and 
great  attention  is  paid  to  floral  adornment.  We 
have  never  seen  magnolia  trees  in  fuller  wealth  of 
bloom  than  they  here  display,  and  contrasting  with 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  147 

them  is  the  bright  green  foliage  and  vivid  pink 
of  the  pomegranate.  Broad  streets  intersect  each 
other  at  right  angles  but  the  main  business  por 
tion  of  the  city  wears  an  old-time  look,  which  be 
speaks  its  record  of  mining  days,  the  early  rendez 
vous  as  it  was  of  westward  bound  emigrants,  the 
first  settlement  to  greet  the  eyes  of  weary  wander 
ers  over  the  plains.  Many  of  the  buildings  are 
still  Mexican  in  type,  with  broad  verandas  across 
their  second  story,  and  bearing  the  marks  of  age 
and  delapidation.  The  sidewalks  are  of  wood,  and 
so  much  raised  above  the  street  level  as  to  require 
a  bridge  of  sharp  descent  and  ascent  at  each  street 
corner.  Cleanliness  is  not  a  feature  of  this  part 
of  the  city,  however  noticeable  in  more  favored 
localities. 

The  Capitol  building  sits  grandly  in  its  beauti 
ful  park  and  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  in  its 
architecture  or  ornamentation.  Its  senate-cham 
ber  and  assembly  hall  contain  full  length  portraits 
of  California's  governors,  the  corridors  and  stair 
ways  are  adorned  with  paintings  illustrating  early 
scenes  in  the  phenomenal  history  of  the  state, 
while  in  the  rotunda  on  the  first  floor  is  seen  that 
notable  piece  of  statuary,  Columbus  before  Isa 
bella,  these  two  figures  of  heroic  size,  together 
with  the  kneeling  page  of  the  Queen,  being 
carved  from  one  solid  block  of  marble  by  Larkin 
G.  Mead,  and  presented  by  D.  G.  Mills  to  the 


148  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

State  of  California.  As  we  gaze  admiringly  upon 
this  work  of  art  we  cannot  restrain  the  wish  that 
the  fair  Isabella  could  have  foreseen  the  magni 
tude  of  the  cause  to  which  she  pledged  her  jewels, 
or  the  marvellous  growth  which  would  spring  from 
that  tiny  seedling  planted  by  her  hopeful  hand  ; 
that  her  woman's  soul  could  have  seen  its  faith 
justified,  and  have  read  her  own  record  in  the 
history  of  nations,  could  have  known  that  she  would 
be  thus  immortalized,  sitting  here  enthroned  in  this 
marble  paved  temple  with  the  warm  golden  light 
from  its  open  portals  touching  her  face  and  form 
with  a  glory  that  is  almost  life. 

Art  has  in  Sacramento  another  chosen  home. 
A  valuable  collection  has  been  donated  by  Mrs. 
Charles  B.  Crocker,  who  also  built  in  her  own 
grounds  the  handsome  building  which  holds  these 
treasures  of  painting  and  sculpture.  The  many 
rare  gems  which  are  here  so  attractively  placed 
would  require  more  time  to  properly  appreciate 
and  enjoy  than  we  have  at  our  command,  but  we 
still  carry  away  many  delightful  remembrances  to 
enrich  future  thought.  In  the  position  of  honor 
in  the  main  hall,  beneath  a  massive  painting  of 
Yo  Semite,  rests  the  tie  of  California  laurel  and 
four  iron  rails  which  formed  with  the  golden  spike 
the  last  connecting  links  in  that  narrow  shining 
bridge  which  spans  a  continent,  to  whose  comple 
tion  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Crocker  lent  such  valuable 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  149 

assistance.  It  was  at  Promontory,  near  Ogden 
where  the  Central  Pacific  R.  R.  building  east  and 
the  Union  Pacific  hastening  westward  finally  met, 
May  10,  1869. 

"  Where  two  Engines  in  our  vision 
Once  have  met,  without  collision." 

"  What  was  it,  the  Engines  said 
Pilots  touching  —  head  to  head, 
Facing  on  the  single  track 
Half  a  world  behind  each  back  ?  " 

"  What  it  was  the  Engines  said, 
Unreported  and  unread, 
Spoken  slightly  through  the  nose, 
With  a  whistle  at  the  close," 

only  Bret  Harte  heard,  and  translated  for  our 
duller  comprehension  and  certainly  no  recent  date 
has  chronicled  an  event  of  greater  importance,  of 
vaster  moment  to  the  nation. 

Leaving  Sacramento  at  noon  and  threading  the 
orchards  and  vineyards  that  encompass  her  about, 
passing  beyond  this  smiling  valley  toward  the  foot 
hills  where  we  view  many  traces  of  hydraulic  min 
ing  (a  method  now  forbidden  by  law,  lest  the  hills 
themselves  be  washed  away,  and  the  lowlands  be 
come  unfertile,  the  rivers  unnavigable),  we  com 
mence  with  keen  anticipation  the  ascent  by  day 
light  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains,  two  strong 
engines  with  labored  breath  attempting  the  up 
ward  grade. 


150  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

• 

If  friends  at  home  should  try  to  mentally  locate 
us  now,  probably  the  last  point  at  which  the  wild 
est  imagination  could  place  us  would  be  rounding 
Cape  Horn  ;  and  yet  this  is  the  first  experience 
we  are  called  upon  to  enjoy.  On  a  high  promon 
tory  of  the  first  range  we  ascend,  a  narrow  shelf 
has  been  pecked  away  from  the  rocky  heart  of  the 
mountain  (at  first  by  men  suspended  by  ropes  from 
the  summit),  now  daily  used  as  the  main  highway 
of  this  large  railway  system,  and  exactly  on  the 
sharpest  curve  of  the  cape  we  pause  for  some 
minutes  in  mid-air  to  enjoy  the  wondrous  scene 
unrolled  beneath  us.  Hundreds  of  feet  below,  a 
deep  verdant  gorge,  through  which  the  muddy 
American  river  winds  like  a  tiny  thread,  wide  and 
turbulent  as  it  doubtless  is,  if  true  to  its  title, 
leading  the  eye  by  graceful  twist  and  turn,  out 
from  these  lofty  confines  to  other  chasms  beyond. 
Turning  from  this  dizzy  height,  we  have  just  time 
to  press  the  wild  azaleas  which  find  room  to  grow 
on  this  sterile  point,  when  we  stop  for  orders  at 
Blue  Canon.  And  why  "Blue"?  Is  the  river 
that  rises  here  bluer  than  other  mountain  streams, 
albeit  the  waters  of  the  little  brook  are  so  clear 
and  pure  that  we  delightedly  fill  our  drinking  cups 
at  its  brim  and  gather  the  spearmint  which  bor 
ders  its  edge,  or  is  the  name  given  because  of  this 
bluish  afternoon  haze  that  floods  both  sides  of  the 
canon,  our  track  here  as  in  many  other  places 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  151 

following   the    outline   of    the   letters    U   and  V 
and  Z. 

But  just  as  we  grow  enthusiastic  over  these 
beautiful  Sierra,  rushing  from  side  to  side  of  the 
car  in  response  to  some  neighbor's  frantic  appeal 
to  "look,"  presto,  change!  and  there  comes  a 
blank.  Darkness  profound  hems  us  in,  and  the 
fact  dawns  upon  us  that  we  are  in  a  snow  shed  ; 
and  we  leave  it  only  to  enter  another,  and  another, 
tunnel  alternating  with  snow  shed  for  over  forty 
miles  of  oblivion.  How  tired  we  all  grew  as  the 
hours  wore  on  of  the  long  eclipse,  how  aggravating 
to  catch  occasional  glimpses,  through  cracks  be 
tween  the  boards,  of  beautiful  landscapes  around 
us  only  to  lose  them  before  they  were  discerned. 
How  cold  was  the  breath  of  those  deep  snow 
drifts,  some  of  them  the  accumulation  it  would 
seem  of  a  score  of  years,  how  pityingly  we  recalled 
the  sufferings  of  those  poor  travellers  imprisoned 
here  during  last  winter's  blockade,  how  we  shouted 
with  relief  and  joy  when  at  last  the  radiant  sun 
streamed  in  upon  us,  just  after  the  lovely  Donner 
Lake,  of  saddest  history  had  been  passed.  Soon 
after  we  reach  Truckee,  a  rough  little  lumber  town, 
where  we  are  side-tracked,  and  after  a  ramble 
about  the  place,  the  inspection  in  its  round-house 
of  the  giant  rotary  snow-plough  which  did  such 
valiant  service  a  few  months  ago  (although  but 
for  those  despised  snow-sheds,  the  invention  of 


152  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

Mr.  Crocker,  and  built  at  an  average  expense  of 
$10,000  a  mile,  all  the  snow-ploughs  in  the  world 
could  not  keep  open  that  narrow  mountain  path), 
we  are  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  splash  and  roar  of 
Truckee's  riotous  river,  and  rest  until  the  matin's 
peal  of  the  "regular"  train  which  arrives  at  day 
break,  at  whose  heels  we  continue  our  journey. 


SALT  LAKE   CITY 


153 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SALT    LAKE    CITY 

THE  region  between  Truckee,  the  last  town  in 
California,  and  Reno,  the  first  of  note  in 
Nevada  is  exceedingly  picturesque.  The  eastern 
spurs  of  the  Sierra  still  surround  us,  the  merry 
little  river,  with  its  cascades  and  whirlpools  and 
wild  current  which  almost  mock  our  speed,  is  our 
constant  companion.  Unlike  most  streams  the 
Truckee  is  borne  full  grown  as  it  flows  only  from 
the  fresh  water  Lake  Tahoe  to  the  saline  basin  of 
Pyramid  Lake,  97  miles  distant,  draining  the  one 
and  supplying  the  other  without  altering  the  char 
acteristics  of  either.  While  still  revelling  in  its 
boisterous  beauty,  feeling  the  spirit  of  its  frolic,  a 
white  post  beside  the  track  marks  our  passage  of 
the  State  Line,  and  California  is  now  behind  us, 
our  pleasant  experience  within  its  borders  but  a 
reminiscence. 

Fair  golden  state,  farewell !  We  turn  our  faces 
eastward  and  hasten  away  but  we  leave  our  hearts 
behind,  oh  gracious  princess,  to  whom  all  won 
drous  gifts  have  been  vouchsafed  that  thou  in 


154  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

turn  mayest  lavish  them  upon  each  idle  comer. 
Ours  too  forever  are  thy  mountain  chains,  and  ver 
dant  valleys,  thy  desolate  gorges  and  fruit-laden, 
rose-smothered  gardens,  thine  awful  canons,  cata 
racts  and  winding  rivers,  desert,  plain  and  city,  all, 
all  are  ours  in  blessed  memory.  May  the  joys  you 
have  showered  upon  the  strangers  within  your 
gates  return  upon  you  and  yours  a  thousand-fold. 
We  go  reluctantly,  still  turning  back  to  waft  a 
warm  farewell.  Bill  Nye  says  truly  that  while 
many  go  to  California,  but  few  return.  We  sur 
mise  also  that  not  a  few  who  do  return  resolve  to 
go  again  at  their  earliest  opportunity.  A  year's 
residence  in  this  part  of  our  Republic  is  well  nigh 
fatal  to  one's  allegiance  to  other  localities,  so 
potent  and  irresistible  is  California's  subtle  charm. 
No  greater  contrast  could  be  imagined  than  the 
scenery  afforded  by  our  first  and  second  day's 
travel.  When  Reno  and  its  pink  sand-verbenas 
are  left  behind,  we  enter  upon  the  desert  and  trav 
erse  its  level  wastes  through  the  entire  day  and 
night,  although  even  here  the  monotony  is  re 
lieved  by  many  interesting  features.  Snow-clad 
mountains  are  almost  constantly  in  sight  from  a 
greater  or  less  distance.  Frequently  along  our 
course  what  seems  to  be  a  little  dust-eddy,  a  cy 
clone  in  miniature,  reveals  the  existence  of  boiling 
springs  and  their  steaming  escape-valves.  At 
Humboldt,  where  we  alight  at  noon,  the  arid  soil 


SAL  T  LAKE   CITY  I  5  5 

has  been  converted  into  a  refreshing  little  oasis  of 
green  grass  and  splashing  fountain,  and  here,  two 
Piute  squaws  bring  to  the  station  a  much-swathed 
and  basket-imprisoned  pappoose  who  is  further 
fettered  by  a  cotton-cloth  veil  which  can  only  be 
lifted  to  reveal  the  charms  beneath  on  presenta 
tion,  by  the  curious,  of  a  nickel,  but  when  one  of 
the  numerous  cameras  on  board  the  train  was  fo 
cused  on  the  group  from  a  car  window,  the  party 
fled  precipitately,  sharing  doubtless  the  old  super 
stition  that  a  certain  portion  of  one's  life  is  taken 
to  make  a  portrait.  At  Elko  however,  a  degener 
ated  chieftain  in  the  attire  of  civilization  was 
found  who  expressed  a  willingness  to  stand  and 
have  his  picture  taken  all  day  for  fifteen  cents. 

At  Palisade,  the  last  place  of  interest  passed 
before  nightfall,  some  very  picturesque  scenery  is 
enjoyed,  the  precipitous  rocks  on  either  side  being 
sprinkled  with  a  yellowish  moss  which  resembles 
copper  veining.  At  this  point  also  a  narrow- 
gauge  road  diverges  to  Eureka,  where  is  located 
the  richest  gold  mine  in  Nevada.  We  awake  next 
morning  in  sight  of  that  strange  phenomenon, 
America's  Dead  Sea,  skirting  its  borders  until  we 
approach  Ogden,  the  terminus  of  four  important 
railway  systems,  a  city  whose  beautiful  situation 
we  did  not  have  time  to  inspect  as  we  turn  aside 
here  to  visit  the  Mormon  Saint's  Rest  —  Salt 
Lake  City. 


156  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Perhaps  no  point  in  our  long  journey  is  re 
garded  with  a  more  curious  interest  than  is  the 
capital  of  Utah.  Its  strange  history,  its  religion, 
built  upon  only  nine  commandments  of  the  Deca 
logue,  its  long  defiance  of  U.  S.  laws,  with  other 
unusual  features  increase  one's  natural  desire  to 
see  this  strange  land.  In  our  first  drive  about 
the  city  it  was  easy  to  decide  that  its  beauty  had 
been  over-rated.  We  had  heard  of  wide  shaded 
streets  with  a  gently  purling  river  of  pure  water 
from  the  mountains,  bordering  every  curb-stone. 
We  found  a  swiftly -flowing  muddy  current  in  one 
gutter  only  of  many  of  the  streets,  we  found  wide 
thoroughfares,  it  is  true,  but  they  were  untidy, 
rough  and  ill-kept,  and  the  sidewalks  were  in  no 
cleanlier  condition.  The  trees  were  almost  wholly 
of  the  white  locust  species,  which  being  now  in 
full  flower  added  a  needed  touch  of  grace  and 
beauty  to  the  city,  which  was  also  bathed  in  a 
clear  radiant  mountain  atmosphere  imparting  a 
peculiar  brilliancy  to  the  sky.  A  perpetual  inspi 
ration  is  the  Wasatch  range  of  snowy  peaks,  which 
overlook  the  city  and  whose  altitude  of  13,000  feet 
it  is  difficult  to  realize,  being  ourselves  now  nearly 
5000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Driving  first  to  the  Temple  enclosure,  we  visit 
the  Tabernacle,  a  plain,  oblong  structure  that  will 
seat  8,000,  and  has  twenty  double  doors  of  exit. 
After  inspecting  its  interior,  its  large  organ  made 


SALT  LAKE   CITY  157 

of  native  woods,  and  testing  its  hard,  uncushioned 
seats,  we  ascended  to  the  gallery  at  the  extreme 
end  of  the  building  opposite  the  pulpit  platform 
(where  behind  the  desk  are  three  or  four  rows  of 
seats  for  different  orders  of  the  priesthood,  and 
semi-circular  accommodation  for  the  Tabernacle 
choir),  and  were  then  treated  to  an  exhibition  of 
the  excellent  acoustic  qualities  of  the  building,  a 
common  brass  pin  when  dropped  upon  a  table 
near  the  pulpit  being  distinctly  heard  over  200 
feet  away,  a  whisper  was  clearly  audible,  though 
we  strongly  suspect  this  acoustic  feat  was  possible 
only  at  that  especial  angle,  or  between  those  two 
opposite  points,  for  we  noticed  a  disturbing  echo 
when  sitting  on  the  side  of  the  sanctuary,  and  the 
ceiling  was  hung  with  a  multitude  of  very  dusty, 
brown  and  faded  cedar  festoons  and  garlands, 
placed  there  on  the  occasion  of  a  24th  of  July  cele 
bration,  (the  anniversary  of  the  Mormon  arrival  in. 
this  place),  and  these  now  musty  decorations  are 
allowed  to  still  remain  because  it  was  found  they 
so  greatly  improved  the  acoustic  properties  of  the 
place. 

Within  the  high  stone  wall  by  which  this  Tem 
ple  block  is  surrounded,  stands  also  the  Assembly 
Hall,  a  handsome  structure,  used  for  worship  in 
winter,  into  which  we  Gentiles  were  not  admitted, 
neither  gained  we  entrance  to  the  imposing  granite 
Temple,  begun  twenty-five  years  ago  and  still  in- 


158  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

complete,  although  nearly  two  millions  of  dollars 
have  been  expended  upon  it.  The  streets  bounding 
this  Temple  block  are  named  East  Temple,  West, 
North,  and  South  Temple,  the  succeeding  parallel 
avenues  being  First  and  Second  East,  or  North,  a 
method  of  designation  which  leads  to  many  per 
plexing  complications,  for  when  the  visiting  pedes 
trian,  upon  inquiry,  is  told  that  he  is  now  at  the 
corner  of  Fourth  South  and  East  Sixth,  he  begins 
to  lose  all  interest  in  localities. 

We  drove  through  the  main  business  street 
where  is  the  Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Insti 
tute  and  other  stores,  we  turned  aside  into  a  pleas 
ant  avenue  which  leads  to  Prospect  Hill  where  a 
fine  view  of  the  city  and  surrounding  country  can 
be  obtained,  we  passed  the  tithing-house,  the 
Gardo  House,  which  is  the  Mormon  White  House, 
the  present  incumbent  of  the  presidential  office 
always  residing  there,  we  saw  the  Bee-Hive,  the 
residence  of  some  of  Brigham  Young's  sons,  the 
home  where  several  of  his  widows  reside,  the  small 
enclosure  within  the  city  limits  devoted  to  the 
prophet's  sepulture,  and  that  of  his  wives,  the  line 
of  accommodation  being  drawn  at  their  numerous 
progeny.  One  house  was  pointed  out  as  belong 
ing  to  a  man  with  two  wives  and  38  children, 
whereupon  our  party  began  to  estimate  the  num 
ber  of  shoes  this  patriarch  would  buy  each  spring 
and  autumn,  multiplied  by  the  number  of  years  of 


SALT  LAKE   CITY  159 

juvenile  dependence,  but  the  decimals  increased 
so  fast,  that  the  problem  became  wearisome. 

We  passed  under  the  Eagle  Gate,  saw  Rose 
Cottage,  the  beautiful  residence  of  an  English 
Mormon  widow,  also  the  homes  of  several  pen 
sioned  wives,  as  since  the  recent  action  of  Con 
gress,  no  Mormon  is  allowed  to  visit  any  save  his 
first  wife,  under  penalty  of  arrest.  Polygamy  is 
now  dead,  the  Endowment  House  is  razed  to  the 
ground,  property  peculiar  to  their  plural  rites  has 
been  confiscated,  but  the  sad  and  demoralized 
fruits  of  the  long  reign  of  error  are  still  painfully 
apparent.  We  have  never  seen  such  lack  of  intel 
ligence  in  human  faces,  or  countenances  so  utterly 
devoid  of  expression  of  any  kind,  as  on  the  women 
and  children  of  this  Mormon  kingdom.  That 
feminine  snap  of  the  eye  and  carriage  of  the  head 
common  to  the  woman  who  has  a  mind  and  will  of 
her  own  and  claims  the  right  to  its  exercise,  we 
did  not  once  discover  outside  the  ranks  of  their 
Eastern  visitors.  We  met  no  Mormon  child  who 
was  capable  of  answering  a  question,  though  one 
whom  we  pleasantly  accosted  was-  introduced  to 
our  notice  by  an  attendant  as  "  Sadie  Cannon,  the 
fourth  wife's  child,  you  know." 

In  the  afternoon  we  were  treated  to  an  excur 
sion  by  rail  to  Salt  Lake,  17  miles  from  the  city, 
stopping  at  Garfield  Beach  where  a  handsome 
Pavilion  has  been  erected  in  the  water  a  short 


I6O  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

distance  from  the  shore,  and  there  are  numerous 
bathing  houses.  Many  of  our  party  improved  this 
opportunity  to  test  a  novel  experience,  that  of 
bathing  in  water  so  buoyant  that  to  sink  is  impos 
sible,  the  Lake  holding  17  per  cent  of  salt,  over 
the  3  or  4  percentage  of  the  Atlantic  brine.  As 
the  bathing  suits  provided  here  are  of  the  bright 
est  hue,  the  blue  waters  presented  a  peculiar 
kaleidoscopic  appearance,  as  these  gayly  attired 
cork  dolls  floated,  bobbed,  or  writhed  in  most  un 
usual  positions.  It  is  a  beautiful  Lake,  about  80 
miles  long  by  50  wide,  with  large  islands  in  the 
near  distance,  Antelope  being  10  miles  long  and 
3000  feet  wide.  These  waters  were  first  navigated 
by  Gen.  Fremont  in  1842,  by  Capt.  Stansbury  in 
1850  whose  name  is  given  to  one  of  the  islands. 
Numerous  fresh  water  streams  pour  constantly 
into  this  strange  basin  without  in  the  least  affect 
ing  its  saline  quality,  and  the  Lake  has  no  visible 
outlet.  It  supports  no  life  save  a  tiny  shrimp  or 
insect,  not  so  large  as  a  New  Jersey  mosquito. 
The  surrounding  sterile-looking  shores  abound  in 
new  and  beautiful  wild-flowers. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  interest  that  we  sought 
the  Mormon  Tabernacle  on  Sunday  afternoon  to 
attend  its  service/ although  (perhaps  to  our  shame) 
the  spirit  of  universal  brotherhood  sank  as  low  in 
our  soul's  barometer  as  it  did  in  Chinatown,  albeit 
we  resolutely  looked  only  for  that  which  was  good 


SALT  LAKE   CITY  l6l 

and  commendable,  realizing  that  a  spirit  of  criti 
cism  should  find  no  place  in  any  house  devoted  to 
praise  and  worship  of  the  Infinite  One.  The  ob 
servance  of  the  Sacrament  is  a  feature  of  every 
service,  bread  and  water  being  passed  in  silver 
cake-baskets  and  flagons  from  hand  to  hand,  we 
likewise  assisting,  though  the  rite  is  not  observed 
in  silence,  for  as  the  deacons  and  their  assistants 
pass  through  the  vast  audience,  the  delivery  of  the 
sermon  still  goes  on.  The  speakers  alternate  each 
Sabbath,  an  elder  being  chosen  from  the  various 
districts  in  turn.  Prof.  Talmadge  whom  it  was 
our  chance  to  hear,  is  a  young  and  very  smart 
man,  but  for  his  morbid  religious  bias.  He 
ranted  a  little,  and  even  accused  the  U.  S.  govern 
ment  of  arraigning  itself  against  the  only  church 
of  Christ,  but  in  a  Christian  spirit  exhorted  his 
hearers  to  show  their  worth  by  their  submission 
and  obedience,  making  the  pertinent  suggestion 
that  perhaps  they  had  not  so  far  outgrown  the  re 
membrance  of  the  persecutions  and  sufferings 
of  Nauvoo  to  be  entrusted  with  power  which 
might  lead  to  a  desire  for  revenge.  He  asserted 
that  if  the  U.  S.  government  knew  what  it  was 
doing  it  would  desist,  as  the  hand  of  the  Lord  had 
always  been  extended  to  protect  this  church  in 
every  danger  that  threatened  her. 

Much  of  the  discourse  was  lost,  or  overpowered 
by  the  superior  lung  capacity  of  hungry  and  un- 


1 62  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

comfortable  children  whose  wails  were  unre 
strained.  What  is  the  use  of  acoustic  excellence 
in  a  building  when  it  is  filled  with  such  a  large 
proportion  of  "  Utah's  best  crop  "  who  squall  and 
lunch  by  turns  ?  The  habit  of  attendance  on  reli 
gious  worship  is  one  early  inculcated  evidently  by 
the  Mormon  church.  The  singing  was  excellent, 
the  responsive  anthem  carrying  us  back  to  Peace 
Jubilee  days. 

Salt  Lake  City  at  present  is  having  a  boom. 
The  Gentile  immigration  is  very  large,  the  streets 
are  thronged,  the  city's  unattractive  hotels  are 
crowded,  and  there  is  a  spirit  of  prophecy  in  the 
air  that  Mormonism  is  on  the  wane,  its  record  a 
memory  of  the  past,  and  not  a  power  of  the 
future. 


THE  SCENIC  ROUTE  163 


CHAPTER   XXII 

THE   SCENIC    ROUTE 

T3  EFRESHED  by  this  break  in  our  journey, 
-I- V  glad  to  have  had  this  opportunity,  yet  in 
wardly  resolving  never  to  visit  Salt  Lake  City 
again,  on  Monday  morning  we  gladly  start  onward, 
though  we  do  not  immediately  leave  Mormondom 
behind,  for  all  through  the  valley  of  the  river  Jor 
dan,  (which  strangely  enough  runs  into  this  salt 
Dead  Sea  from  the  fresh  Utah  Lake,  which  corre 
sponds  in  the  devout  minds  of  the  Latter  Day 
Saint  to  the  Sea  of  Tiberius,  making  of  this  local 
ity  a  veritable  Zion  intended  for  his  occupancy), 
we  pass  through  many  Mormon  settlements  and 
see  plentiful  proof,  not  of  miraculous  divine  inter 
vention,  but  that  clear  pluck  and  faithful  toil  have 
coaxed  these  waste  places  to  laugh  into  harvests 
and  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  The  Jordan  is  a 
muddy,  unlovely  stream,  not  so  wide  but  that  we 
could  cast  a  stone  to  its  farther  bank. 

We  have  entered  upon  the  course  of  the  Denver 
and  Rio  Grande  R.R.,  known  as  the  grandest 
scenic  line  in  the  world,  and  it  wears  these  laurels 


164  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

deservedly,  although  to  enjoy  this  wonderful  pano 
ramic  display  the  tourist  (until  the  wide  track  now 
building,  is  completed)  has  to  exchange  his  com 
modious  section,  or  private  drawing-room  in  a 
palace-car  for  the  less  comfortable,  inconvenient 
narrow-gauge  sleepers,  whose  upper  berth  is 
placed  so  near  the  ceiling  that  it  is  suggestive  of 
nothing  else  than  the  top-drawer  of  a  receiving 
tomb,  while  the  motion  of  the  car  at  this  altitude 
is  something  like  that  which  is  used  in  the  manu 
facture  of  egg-nog.  And  still  the  rich  experience 
of  the  next  three  days  amply  repays  every. discom 
fort.  For  how  many  years,  when  such  possibility 
seemed  a  Utopian  dream,  have  we  longed  to  view 
the  grandeur  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  the  back 
bone  of  our  continent,  how  often  in  fancy  have  we 
penetrated  their  wild  defiles  and  mighty  canons, 
or  climbed  their  stupendous  heights  ;  and  now  this 
coveted  opportunity  is  ours  to  enjoy;  we  are  to 
taste  the  pleasant  fruit  which  we  have  craved, 
indeed  without  fatigue  or  effort,  it  drops  into  our 
grasp. 

After  leaving  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  we  fol 
low  Spanish  Fork  to  a  pass  in  the  Wasatch  range 
known  as  Soldier  Summit,  and  soon  approach  the 
gateway  to  this  gigantic  land,  a  veritable  Castle 
Gate,  two  massive  buttressed  pillars  advancing 
from  the  cliffs  to  hold  watch  and  ward  before 
these  sacred  precincts,  not  exactly  opposite  each 


THE  SCENIC  ROUTE  165 

other  though  apparently  so  as  we  approach  them, 
and  our  "special"  train  stops  here  to  do  them  rever 
ence.  We  alight  and  gaze  in  wonder  upon  their 
geometrical  proportions  and  rich  coloring,  these 
isolated  heights  seeming  still  more  impressive  as 
we  leave  them  in  the  distance,  for  they  appear  to 
draw  nearer  to  each  other,  after  having  so  charily 
allowed  us  room  to  pass.  We  now  enter  upon 
Castle  Canon,  a  marvellous  region  where  are  the 
Book  Cliffs,  so-called  perhaps  because  the  ridges 
of  parti-colored  rocks  lie  in  even  layers,  like  the 
successive  leaves  of  a  book.  But  such  wonderful 
fantastic  shapes  no  book  ever  assumed.  Would 
we  could  read  their  ancient  record,  so  boldly  writ 
ten  in  hieroglyphic  cypher,  for  surely  some  Titan 
horde  once  occupied  these  lordly  castles  and  kept 
watch  for  coming  foe  from  these  sightly  towers. 
How  impregnable  are  their  fortifications  !  Note 
that  palace  in  ruins,  how  grand  its  proportions, 
how  extensive  its  surrounding  walls  !  Resem 
blances  to  such  structures  we  have  seen  in  rock 
formations  many  times  before,  but  surely  no  sem 
blance  these.  They  are  too  evidently  the  work  of 
man,  the  citadels  of  a  race  of  giants.  And  the 
rich  veining  of  color  which  is  such  a  feature  of  this 
entire  region,  is  here  at  its  height,  exciting  con 
stant  outbursts  of  glorious  surprise.  Later  on, 
the  cliffs  which  for  several  miles  have  towered 
near  our  windows,  recede  some  distance  where  we 


1 66  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

view  them  less  minutely  but  in  more  extended 
range,  which  gives  the  effect  of  fair  cities  whose 
domes  and  turrets,  and  battlements  reflect  on  their 
red  outlines  the  glow  of  the  setting  sun.  Ah  !  if 
we  could  preserve  forever  a  vivid  picture  of  this 
scene,  so  that  we  could  shut  our  eyes  at  any  time 
and  still  behold  it.  If  it  might  never  grow  dim  or 
be  crowded  from  our  consciousness.  We  grow  al 
most  jealous  of  the  glory  to-morrow  holds,  which 
may  efface  from  our  fleeting  memories  the  tran^ 
scendent  message  of  to-day. 

From  Green  River,  which  we  leave  at  dark,  we 
enter  upon  a  barren  uninteresting  territory  which 
we  are  glad  to  pass  over  during  sleeping  hours. 
We  awake  on  the  Uncompahgre  Plateau  and  after 
breakfast  at  Cimarron  Creek  we  take  the  roofless 
observation-car  to  better  enjoy  one  of  the  most 
soul-inspiring  rides  the  world  affords,  a  run  of  sev 
eral  miles  through  the  Black  Canon  of  the  Gunni- 
son.  Who  can  describe  this  mighty  gorge  ?  Our 
wildest  conception  of  its  solemn  grandeur,  its  stern 
features,  which  the  secluded  light  serves  to 
heighten,  is  eclipsed  by  this  massive  reality. 
Even  our  recent  experience  in  the  Yo  Semite  can 
not  dull  the  edge  of  our  amazement  and  delight. 
Far  from  it.  This  sublime  canon  cannot  suffer  by 
comparison  with  any  other  of  Nature's  master 
pieces.  It  is  true  the  Yo  Semite  walls  rise  a 
thousand  or  two  feet  higher  than  these,  but  this 


THE  SCENIC  ROUTE  167 

chasm  is  so  much  narrower  that  the  effect  of 
height  is  even  greater.  The  human  eye  does  not 
measure  rods  and  roods  with  accuracy  when  the 
scale  is  elevated  skyward.  Then  again  the  Yo 
Semite  granite  is  of  pale  uniform  gray.  These 
giant  ledges  present  such  variegated  strata,  so 
many  brilliant  effects  contrast  with  the  sombre 
dark  surface,  alternating  with  grandeur  of  outline, 
peak  behind  peak,  separated  by  jagged  intersect 
ing  canons,  far  above  our  capacity  to  discern  from 
this  lowly  road-bed  unless  we  had  eyes  in  the  top 
of  our  heads ;  for  the  hinge  in  our  neck  proves  in 
adequate  to  the  excruciating  demand  upon  it.  But 
a  beautiful  object  to  admire  on  our  own  level  is 
the  impetuous  sea-green  Gunnison  river,  which 
rushes  noisily  by  our  side,  exhibiting  strong  marks 
of  impatience  and  dissatisfaction  with  the  limits  of 
its  narrow  confines. 

While  still  in  the  depth  of  the  Canon,  a  peculiar 
obelisk  arises  on  the  farther  side  of  the  river  bank 
which  we  recognize  as  the  Currecanti  Needle,  and 
here  we  are  allowed  to  alight,  and  gather  vari-col- 
ored  rocks  for  souvenirs,  while  our  special  artists 
(all  of  them)  photograph  the  Needle,  and  other 
imposing  features  of  these  encircling  walls.  As 
we  move  on,  we  gain  fleeting  glimpses  of  cascades 
that  leap  down  the  mountain  sides,  one  of  especial 
beauty  bearing  the  name  of  Chipeta  falls  in  honor 
of  the  wife  of  Ouray,  a  chieftain  of  the  Ute 


1 68  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

tribe,  who  was  friendly  to  the  early  settlers. 
We  reach  Gunnison  at  noon,  realizing  for  the 
first  time  that  we  are  now  in  Colorado,  an  en 
chanted  land,  of  which  Joaquin  Miller  writes  : 
"  Colorado,  rare  Colorado !  Yonder  she  rests ; 
her  head  of  gold  pillowed  on  the  Rocky  moun 
tains,  her  feet  in  the  brown  grass,  the  boundless 
plains  for  a  play-ground  ;  she  is  set  on  a  hill 
before  the  world  and  the  air  is  very  clear  so  that 
all  may  see  her  well."  We  seek  one  of  her 
highest  pillows  this  afternoon.  Although  quite 
surfeited  with  grandeur  and  would  fain  defer 
another  feast,  we  now  approach  the  main  range 
of  the  Rockies  and  are  to  mount  and  cross  the 
lofty  summit  known  as  Marshall  Pass,  so  called 
because  its  former  toll-man  bore  that  name.  Our 
train  is  divided  into  two  sections  which  then  pro 
ceed  to  chase  each  other  up  one  winding  stair 
after  another  (by  a  grade  211  feet  in  a  mile), 
often  losing  sight  of  each  other  in  some  of  the 
sharp  bewildering  curves  of  the  mountain's  breast, 
but  soon  revealed  by  the  black  breath  and  am 
bitious  snortings  of  our  iron  steeds,  who  with 
sonorous  pantings  and  hollow  groans  sturdily  push 
their  way  upward  over  still  steeper  grades,  along 
deeper  wilder  precipices  (a  most  exciting  experi 
ence),  making  a  dash  through  an  occasional  snow- 
shed,  until  at  last  the  Summit  is  reached  and  we 
look  down  upon  other  summits,  or  hob-nob  with 


THE  SCENIC  ROUTE  169 

loftier  peaks  across  the  way,  realizing  now  what 
the  aeronaut's  experience  must  be,  or  how  the 
world  looks  over  the  rim  of  a  balloon.  And  a 
very  grand  beautiful  world  it  is. 

We  pause  at  this  altitude  of  over  two  miles 
above  the  sea,  where  some  of  our  frisky  ones  en 
gage  in  a  snowballing  match  with  the  handsome 
brakeman,  who  easily  whips  the  whole  crowd,  or 
drives  them  to  the  shelter  of  glass  windows. 
Others  of  the  party  remembering  that  people  on 
mountain  heights  are  frequently  scant  of  breath, 
anticipating  in  advance  the  possibility  of  being 
themselves  similarly  affected,  watching  narrowly 
as  they  near  the  height,  to  see  how  they  feel  now, 
really  affect  the  regularity  of  the  heart's  pulsation. 
No  organ  responds  more  quickly  to  the  slightest 
mental  excitement  and  anxiety,  on  any  level,  but 
life  has  its  centre  and  its  source  in  far  other  alti 
tudes  than  that  compassed  by  physical  elevation, 
or  mundane  topography.  And  if  born  a  little 
above  the  level  of  the  fishes,  why  should  it  seri 
ously  affect  us  to  get  so  far  away  from  the  sea  ? 
We  live  always  as  spirits  in  a  world  of  spirit,  and 
the  more  we  realize  this,  the  greater  freedom  do 
we  enjoy  from  the  dominion  of  time-worn  preju 
dices,  fears  and  beliefs. 

The  descent  of  this  grand  mountain  is  very 
beautiful,  so  zig-zag  in  its  course  that  two  and 
three  tiers  of  track  are  always  visible,  the  severed 


170  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

halves  of  our  train  from  opposite  sides  of  a  canon, 
going  frequently  in  different  directions,  fluttering 
a  shower  of  white  handkerchiefs  in  friendly  greet 
ing.  At  Salida,  a  bustling  little  town  we  spend 
the  night,  with  the  roar  of  the  swiftly-flowing 
Arkansas  as  lullaby.  This  stop  is  necessary  that 
we  may  not  lose  in  the  darkness  our  next  scenic 
display,  the  Royal  Gorge,  the  further  extremity  of 
the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Arkansas  bearing  this 
title,  and  right  royal  it  is.  Not  a  third  as  long  as 
the  Black  Canon,  the  tension  upon  the  beholder's 
power  to  absorb  is  less  prolonged,  and  yet  its  per 
pendicular  walls  and  minarets  measure  a  greater 
height,  and  so  much  more  obstreperous  and  grasp 
ing  is  the  Arkansas  river  than  the  Gunnison,  that 
it  grudges  even  the  narrow  shelf  we  have  been 
hitherto  glad  to  accept,  or  force  from  the  over 
hanging  rocks  for  our  passage,  for  in  one  place  a 
hanging  bridge,  parallel  with  the  stream,  has  been 
suspended  from  an  iron  framework  forged  into  the 
ledges  which  form  opposing  walls  of  this  Grand 
Canon,  a  triumph  of  railway  engineering.  Here 
too  we  alight,  but  a  few  gasps  of  admiration  are 
all  of  which  our  over  full  souls  are  now  capable  ; 
we  have  already  enjoyed  too  much  for  fitting  ap 
preciation  of  this  grand  scene.  We  have  over 
loaded  our  mental  stomachs,  and  digestion  is 
thereby  impaired. 

Emerging  from  our  last  mountain  pass,  we  see 


THE  SCENIC  ROUTE  I  71 

at  Canon  City  the  guarded  walls  of  the  State 
Penitentiary,  and  speed  on  to  Pueblo,  from  whence 
our  track  for  a  time  lies  between  the  Fort  Scott 
and  Gulf  R.  R.  and  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and 
Santa  Fe,  the  line  upon  whose  rails  we  skirted  this 
country  when  bound  westward.  Since  then  what 
rare  experience  has  been  ours  ;  one  that  forms  an 
abiding  treasure,  to  be  enshrined  in  our  heart  of 
hearts  forever.  We  make  a  quick  run  to  Colo 
rado  Springs,  a  place  of  especial  charm  (though 
possessing  no  springs),  with  glorious  views  sur 
rounding  it,  with  Pike's  Peak,  draped  always  with 
ermine  far  down  his  royal  shoulders,  as  a  per 
petual  magnet  for  every  aspiring  eye.  On  a  side 
track,  six  miles  away,  is  Manitou,  a  romantic  little 
hamlet  among  the  mountains,  and  it  can  never 
become  a  very  large  one.  The  heights  do  not 
recede  far  enough,  the  prongs  by  which  the  eternal 
hills  brace  themselves  extend  almost  within  the 
village  streets,  but  what  charm  does  this  expres 
sion  of  the  "Great  Spirit"  wear,  to  what  wonders 
does  it  hold  the  key.  How  grateful  is  the  sweet 
calm  that  broods  above  it,  how  refreshing  this 
pure,  rarified  air,  how  gladly  we  exchange  the 
restricted  confines  of  our  narrow-gauge  cars  for  a 
whole  room,  a  real  bed,  a  trunk  full  of  untravelled- 
stained  garments,  and  a  blessed  three  days'  rest. 


THE  ROUND    TRIP 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

HOW    WE    SPENT    MEMORIAL    DAY 

THE  display  of  festooned  bunting  over  the 
veranda  of  the  Cliff  House,  in  the  early 
morning,  was  not  a  necessary  reminder  of  the 
tender  associations  connected  with  the  day,  for 
already,  thought  had  flown  to  a  dear  grassy  mound 
far  away  which  we  would  gladly  have  crowned  with 
fairest  flowers  had  such  rite  been  essential  to 
express  the  heart's  true  remembrance,  but  happily, 
neither  time  nor  distance,  nay,  not  death  itself  can 
separate  soul  from  soul,  or  prove  a  barrier  to 
interchange  of  loving  faithful  thought. 

We  had  been  treated  to  a  mountain  thunder 
shower  the  previous  afternoon  of  several  hours' 
duration  with  hail,  and  wind,  and  general  blackness, 
save  on  Pike's  Peak's  hoary  summit,  where  a  dense 
snow  storm  raged.  This  temporary  confinement 
within  doors  had  so  abridged  our  hours  for  sight 
seeing  that  visits  to  several  points  of  interest 
must  be  crowded  into  this  charming  day.  We  first 
walked  through  the  town  and  inspected  its  tempting 
little  stores,  where  are  displayed  the  wealth  of  the 


HO W   WE  SPENT  MEMORIAL  DAY          173 

Rockies,  their  ores,  agates,  crystals  and  gems, 
wrought  into  most  attractive  shapes  and  designs 
for  souvenirs,  or  gifts  to  friends  at  home,  a  bewil 
dering  array,  from  which  any  eye  not  color-blind 
must  have  to  turn  away,  to  resist  its  fascinations. 
At  the  Pavilion,  near  the  Cliff  House  is  an  espe 
cially  large  collection,  and  here  also  are  the 
Manitou  and  Navajo  mineral  springs  with  near  by 
the  soda  and  mineral  baths,  which  some  find  so 
refreshing.  A  short  mile  away  are  the  famous 
iron  mineral  springs,  of  varied  properties  and  a 
champagne-like  effervescence. 

At  eight  A.M.  we  start  on  our  first  drive  in  a 
three-seated  carriage,  as  comfortable  as  any  easy 
chair  in  a  lady's  parlor,  taking  the  trail  up  through 
Ute  Pass,  this  being  the  route  used  by  the  Ute 
tribe  of  Indians  in  going  to  and  from  their  reser 
vation.  A  short  distance  after  passing  the  Rain 
bow  falls,  our  path  leaves  the  road  and  begins  to 
climb  the  steep  height  which  rises  on  our  right,  a 
sharp  incline  which  affords  us,  as  we  ascend,  some 
beautiful  mountain  views,  and  makes  us  acquainted 
with  two  heathen  deities,  Gog  and  Magog,  or  with 
two  pinnacles  of  rocks  thus  christened.  Before  we 
are  aware  we  have  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Grand 
Caverns,  one  of  Manitou's  notable  "lions." 

There  is  always  an  element  of  the  weird  and 
supernatural  about  a  cave  to  creatures  formed  to 
live  in  the  air  and  sunshine.  To  the  timid  occurs 


174  THE  ROUND  TRIP 

the  natural  uneasiness  lest  the  entrance  hole  close 
up  behind  them,  or  the  guide  lose  his  way,  the 
weight  of  darkness  oppresses  them,  the  remem 
brance  of  those  appalling  tons  of  granite  that 
intervene  between  them  and  the  mountain's  sum 
mit,  while  others  feel  a  potent  fascination,  an  irre 
sistible  desire  to  go  on  and  on,  to  explore  each 
narrow  passage  way,  to  delve  still  deeper  into  the 
bowels  of  the  earth.  A  little  distance  goes  a 
great  way  under  ground ;  a  few  feet  are  easily 
stretched,  when  measured  by  new  sensations,  into 
half  a  mile.  These  Grand  Caverns  were  acci 
dentally  discovered  in  1881,  by  Mr.  George  W. 
Snider,  while  tracking  a  deer  which  here  unac 
countably  disappeared.  Four  years  later,  after 
the  cave  had  been  thoroughly  explored  and  cleaned 
of  loose  stones  and  debris,  he  opened  it  to  the 
public.  Though  not  extensive,  it  is  an  interesting 
cave  and  one  of  the  roomiest,  safest,  the  least 
uncanny  and  pokerish  of  any  cave  we  ever  visited. 
It  is  divided  into  three  sections,  the  entrance  to 
each  one  beginning  near  the  outer  world,  so  that 
visitors  can  end  their  explorations  at  any  time. 

Equipped  with  lanterns  we  follow  our  guide 
through  Canopy  Avenue  to  Alabaster  and  Stalac 
tite  Halls,  our  footing  dry,  the  temperature  warm 
and  pleasant,  the  avenues  wide  with  one  excep 
tion,  where  the  narrow  tortuous  corridor  is  named 
appropriately  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande,  which 


HO  <W  WE  SPENT  MEMORIAL  DAY          175 


includes  on  its  route  a  Jail  and  a  Bridal  Chamber; 
(no  comparisons  need  be  drawn,  as  the  two  exca 
vations  in  this  instance  are  situated  widely  apart). 
The  Bridal  Chamber  is  the  finest  room  in  the 
cave,  though  the  descent  leading  to  it  is  steep, 
slippery  and  difficult.  But  here  are  wondrous 
formations  and  we  catch  the  process  of  their 
growth,  stalactites  being  seen  bearing  a  tiny  glis 
tening  drop  which  has  trickled  through  this  rocky 
ceiling  from  some  unseen  spring  above  us.  Near 
by  is  a  whole  waterfall  apparently  crystallized,  or 
congealed  while  still  flowing.  Animals'  heads 
and  other  realistic  shapes  abound,  a  flock  of  snowy 
sheep  are  grazing  near,  and  as  fitting  climax  to 
this  rural  scene  a  large  old-fashioned  churn  is  seen 
with  dasher  complete. 

But  the  greatest  wonder  of  the  whole  cave  is 
its  natural  Organ.  The  largest  chamber  is  known 
as  the  Opera  House,  a  lofty  concert  hall  with  two 
well  defined  galleries  in  its  upper  recesses  which 
our  lanterns  dimly  reveal,  and  somewhere  in  the 
darkness  beyond,  a  torch  and  a  voice  discovers  the 
presence  of  a  man  in  the  upper  loft  who  calls  our 
attention  to  a  group  of  long,  curving  ribbon  sta 
lactites,  on  which  has  been  discovered  a  musical 
scale,  slightly  flattened  in  its  lower  register,  but 
clear  in  its  upper  notes,  and  truly  remarkable  in 
every  way.  The  organist,  striking  with  two  little 
sticks  at  different  points  upon  the  suspended 


176  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

stalactites  played  several  tunes,  responding  gra 
ciously  to  encores  from  his  enthusiastic  audience 
in  the  pit.  Cauliflower  and  lily  pads  seemed  to 
grow  out  of  the  rocky  floor  at  our  feet,  and  the 
only  piece  of  artificiality  in  this  natural  wonder 
was  a  monument  to  Gen.  Grant  formed  of  loose 
stones,  begun  on  the  day  of  his  funeral  and  now 
completed. 

It  is  customary  in  connection  with  a  visit  to  the 
Grand  Caverns  to  walk  over  to  the  lovely  Cave  of 
the  Winds,  situated  on  the  other  side  of  the  same 
height,  but  we  postponed  this  pleasure  that  we 
might  devote  more  time  to  the  Garden  of  the 
Gods,  three  or  four  miles  distant.  This  wonderful 
spot  is  not  happily  named.  A  garden  implies 
culture ;  this  large  tract  retains  its  own  simple 
grandeur,  untrammelled  and  unvexed  by  the  hand 
of  improvement.  It  might  once  have  served  as 
Council  Chamber  of  some  primeval  deities,  whose 
ruined  abbeys  and  cathedrals  spires  remain  to 
excite  our  admiration.  The  play-ground  of  tricksy 
fairies  must  have  been  close  by,  as  these  red 
sandstone  exclamation  points  on  the  face  of  nature 
have  assumed  the  most  grotesque  shapes,  which 
space  fails  us  to  enumerate.  Even  such  steady 
going  animals  as  bears  and  seals  here  indulge  in  a 
game  of  peek-a-boo  !  The  entrance  to  this  strange 
territory  is  fitly  called  Mushroom  Park,  as  the 
rocks  standing  here  have  the  effrontery  to  take 


HOW  WE  SPENT  MEMORIAL   DAY          177 

on  the  ephemeral  shape  of  toad-stools,  which  no 
rock  with  correct  ideas  of  propriety  would  think  of 
doing,  especially  as  they  are  taller  than  the  shrubs 
which  grow  around  them.  Just  here  we  pass  the 
huge  balanced  rock  on  its  meagre  pivotal  base  and 
the  deer's  head  so  clearly  outlined  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  narrow  passage.  But  the  grandest 
feature  of  the  place  is  the  colossal  gateway  with 
its  lonely  sentinel  always  on  guard.  Through 
these  magnificent  portals  we  gain  from  the  other 
side  an  enchanting  view  of  Pike's  Peak  beyond, 
contrasting  so  exquisitely  in  its  graceful  slope 
with  these  abrupt  perpendicular  bulwarks,  as  also 
its  lovely  white  sheen  in  the  noonday  glare,  with 
its  canopy  of  tenderest  blue,  intensifies  the  deep 
red  of  the  cliffs  and  the  rich  green  of  the  sur 
rounding  foliage.  The  scene  is  almost  beyond 
any  fiction  which  imagination  might  paint.  At 
the  base  of  these  red  cliffs  is  a  white  gypsum  bed 
where  material  is  obtained  for  the  manufacture  of 
the  pretty  white  spar  ornaments.  "Rare  Colo 
rado  "  indeed  !  Such  a  wondrous  land  as  it  is, 
so  diverse  in  its  manifestations,  so  fertile  in 
resources. 

A  mile  or  more  beyond  this  point  is  the  beauti 
ful  residence  and  grounds  of  Gen.  Palmer,  the 
father  of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  R.  R.,  where 
these  strange  formations  also  abound.  It  is  called 
Glen  Eyrie  because  an  eagle  chose  to  build  his 


THE  ROUND    TRIP 


nest  on  the  high  ledge  of  an  overhanging  cliff,  oc 
cupying  it  until  some  miscreant  last  summer  shot 
the  noble  bird. 

The  trip  to  Cheyenne  Canon  and  mountain,  on 
whose  summit  was  buried  the  form  of  Helen  Hunt 
Jackson,  usually  consumes  a  whole  day,  as  a  road 
on  the  farther  side  of  the  mount  winds  nearly  to 
its  apex,  but  if  only  a  half-day  can  be  devoted  to 
this  drive,  then  a  steep  and  almost  impossible 
climb  is  necessary  to  reach  the  height.  Not  de 
terred  thereby,  on  returning  from  our  morning  ex 
cursion  at  twelve,  we  start  again  at  one,  for  the 
peak  which  forms  a  prominent  feature  of  the  land 
scape  for  miles  around.  Passing  through  Colo 
rado  City,  the  oldest  town  in  the  state,  and  its  first 
capital,  where  an  effort  is  now  being  made  to  lo 
cate  the  State  Soldiers'  Home,  we  diverge  from 
Colorado  Springs,  whose  lovely  precincts,  parks 
and  broad  shaded  streets  we  enter  later,  and  soon 
reach  the  woody  pass  which  leads  to  the  Cheyenne 
foot-trail,  of  the  South  Canon. 

Alighting  here,  three  determined  damsels  of  the 
persistent,  resolute  type  (they  were  not  grown  in 
Salt  Lake  City)  set  forth  in  the  face  of  a 
threatened  shower  to  climb  the  rugged  path.  The 
distance  is  called  a  mile  and  a  half,  but  the 
Yo  Semite  scale  of  measurement  is  evidently  used 
here.  For  a  long  three-quarters  of  a  mile  the  road 
is  one  which  it  is  a  luxury  to  tread,  running  beside 


HOW   WE  SPENT  MEMORIAL  DAY          I  79 

and  frequently  crossing  a  beautiful  mountain  brook, 
which  splashes  over  its  pebbles  and  babbles  socia 
bly  in  our  ears,  while  our  eyes  are  directed  else 
where,  to  the  steep  gray  walls  that  rise  so  high 
on  either  hand  that  we  feel  a  little  as  if  we  had 
been  dropped  into  a  well.  We  wish  it  were  not 
necessary  to  hurry  through  this  majestic  aisle,  that 
we  could  linger  here,  a  suggestion  freely  offered 
as  advisable  by  discouraged  returning  parties  who 
warn  us  to  attempt  no  higher  level,  for  the  ascent 
is  impossible.  We  leave  these  faint-hearted  ones 
behind  and  press  on,  until,  as  the  walls  of  the 
canon  seem  to  close  across  our  path,  we  turn  a 
rocky  corner  and  are  instantly  ushered  into  the 
glorious  presence  of  the  Seven  Falls,  one  above 
the  other,  climbing  to  a  point  so  much  higher  than 
our  present  low  station  can  trace  that  we  can 
readily  believe  the  topmost  fount  must  be  the 
hand  of  Jupiter  Pluvius  himself.  But  even  the 
lowest  one  is  alone  well  worth  coming  so  far  to 
see.  It  is  such  an  original  fall,  it  leaps  in  so  many 
different  directions,  carves  out  successive  stairs  for 
itself,  throws  its  spray  so  far  from  these  rocky 
shelves,  and  it  makes  such  a  noise  about  it  that 
conversation  is  impossible  while  we  stand  on  the 
slender  little  bridge  at  its  feet. 

Leading  up  to  this  chasm  which  the  Falls  leap 
down,  a  narrow  wooden  stairway  has  been  affixed 
to  the  side  of  the  mountain's  breast,  directly  over 


l8o  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

the  rushing  torrent,  a  dizzy-looking  cobwebby  af 
fair,  but  nothing  daunted  we  begin  the  ascent, 
passing  almost  through  the  spray  of  these  succes 
sive  cataracts,  getting  nearer  and  nearer  the 
clouds,  over  300  of  these  ladder  rounds  being 
mounted,  till  we  reach  the  point  where  the  steep 
est  climbing  begins.  It  is  on  this  level  that  Helen 
Hunt's  summer  cottage  was  erected.  Here  we 
meet  several  sturdy  masculine  trampers  who  warn 
us  to  "  try  not  the  pass/'  reporting  "  the  toughest 
climbing  ever  attempted,"  it  "did  not  pay,"  it  was 
"a  mile  further,"  with  other  kindly  advice,  and  to 
reenforce  their  suggestions  the  black  cloud  which 
had  been  hovering  above  us  threatened  a  drench 
ing,  but  the  gently  descending  drops  proved  grate 
ful  to  our  heated  faces,  and  it  soon  passed  over. 
"  Excelsior "  was  the  motto  of  the  undaunted 
three,  and  onward  and  upward  they  pressed.  The 
face  of  the  mountain  here  is  very  nearly  perpen 
dicular,  a  stable  foothold  being  almost  impossible 
to  secure.  Like  the  historic  frog  getting  out  of 
the  well,  progress  backward  is  often  more  rapid 
than  the  ascent  gained.  A  bush  to  which  we  can 
cling  occurs  only  semi-occasionally  but  in  one 
place  of  especial  difficulty,  a  short  stair  is  placed, 
with  a  chain  as  handrail.  Stopping  here  to  look 
about  us,  we  note  what  an  exhilarating  tonic  is 
this  pure  mountain  ether.  A  moment  or  two  re 
stores  the  pristine  freshness  with  which  we  started. 


HOW  WE  SPENT  MEMORIAL  DAY          l8l 

At  last,  after  one  of  the  steepest  grades,  we 
clamber  over  the  mountain's  brow  and  stand  erect 
on  its  summit,  whence  a  level  winding  path  con 
ducts  us  to  the  oblong  pile  of  stones  under  which 
rests  the  dust  of  one  unknown  in  mortal  ex 
pression,  but  spiritually  dear  to  all. 

"  O  soul  of  fire  within  a  woman's  clay ! 
Lifting  with  slender  hands  a  race's  wrong, 
Whose  mute  appeal  hushed  all  thine  early  song, 
And  taught  thy  passionate  heart  the  loftier  way, — 
What  shall  thy  place  be  in  the  realm  of  day? 
What  disembodied  world  can  hold  thee  long, 
Binding  thy  turbulent  pulse  with  spell  more  strong  ?  " 

A  few  faded  garlands  lay  upon  the  cairn,  to 
which  we  tenderly  and  reverently  added,  as  our 
Memorial  Day  offering,  a  few  wild  roses  and  mul 
berry  blossoms  picked  by  the  toilsome  wayside. 
But  how  sadly  we  noted  the  desecration  by  the 
autograph  fiend  of  this  sacred  place.  Even  upon 
the  small  pine  tree  in  whose  bark  was  cut  the 
simple  "H.  H.",  other  insignificant  initials  crowd 
it  too  closely.  The  memorial  stones  upon  the 
grave  are  used  to  hold  down  the  fluttering  auto 
graphs  and  pencilled  sentimentality  of  unknown 
visitors,  while  surmounting  the  pile,  an  unsightly 
worm-eaten  slab  of  wood  is  placed  to  bear  the 
inscription  of  an  entire  family.  Is  there  no 
reverence  in  the  American  mind,  no  idea  of  the 
eternal  fitness  of  things  ?  If  this  prominence  of 


1 82  THE  ROUND   TRIP 

the  personality  could  only  be  suppressed,  this 
undue  assertion  of  the  self-hood.  Could  there  be 
no  lesson  learned  here  of  loftier  principle,  of  un 
selfish  devotion  to  the  interests  of  others,  as 
exemplified  in  this  faithful  worker's  life,  that  while 
standing  here  could  make  of  this  privilege  a  future 
inspiration  for  nobler  effort  in  humanity's  service? 
If  one's  name  might  be  inscribed  in  the  grateful 
heart  of  the  lowliest  brother,  what  in  comparison 
this  paltry  scar  upon  the  face  of  notoriety  ?  And 
why  need  this  desecration  remain?  Is  there  no 
one  near  who  loves  this  dear  lady,  with  authority 
to  remove  these  disgraceful  features  ? 

The  spot  is  beautiful,  the  view  therefrom  won 
derfully  grand.  We  look  down  the  Cheyenne 
Seven  Falls  now,  we  look  over  and  into  Colorado 
Springs  and  the  mountain  range  beyond.  This 
grand  summit  must  have  lent  inspiration  to  the 
authoress  who  it  is  said  often  used  to  come  here 
to  write,  and  therefore  expressed  the  wish  that 
this  might  be  her  burial  place.  We  may  never 
stand  here  again,  and  do  not  care  to,  but  we  know 
through  the  law  of  sympathy  and  love,  that  as  we 
aspire  upward,  even  as  we  have  surmounted  this 
difficult  height,  we  shall  one  day  behold  the  face 
of  this  true  worker,  fair,  shining  as  the  sun. 


THE  HOME  STRETCH  183 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

THE    HOME    STRETCH 

WE  were  to  leave  Manitou  for  Denver  on  the 
morrow,  and  as  we  sought  our  pillows 
after  our  over-full  day  and  reviewed  all  that  we 
had  enjoyed  in  this  delightful  place,  only  one  re 
gret  assailed  us  ;  the  Cave  of  the  Winds  remained 
unvisited,  as  well  as  the  charming  little  Williams' 
Canon  leading  to  it  through  serpentine  walls  of 
rock.  But  might  we  not  still  accomplish  the  lat 
ter,  although  the  hour  of  our  departure  was  an 
early  one,  and  the  entrance  to  the  Cave  a  mile  and 
a  half  away  ?  Of  course  it  would  not  be  open,  but 
we  could  at  least  see  its  location.  Therefore,  after 
the  refreshing  oblivion  which  visits  one  in  these 
mountain  retreats,  we  shook  off  the  fetters  of  Mor 
pheus  before  the  sun  had  left  his  bed,  we  emerged 
into  a  world  not  yet  awake,  and  with  keenest  de 
light  immediately  lost  ourselves  in  the  winding 
curves,  and  ins  and  outs  of  this  picturesque  pass, 
the  walls  converging  so  closely  in  places  that  a 
carriage  has  barely  room  to  pass,  the  peaks  seem 
ing  almost  to  meet  overhead. 


184  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

Was  ever  before  such  morning  walk  enjoyed? 
The  shadows  of  the  night  had  so  recently  lifted 
from  these  deep  recesses  that  they  seemed  freshly 
created,  the  tinted  pillars  and  cornices  that  stand 
out  so  boldly  from  these  cavernous  cliffs  show  a 
heightened  color,  a  richer  pink  and  cream  and  ver 
milion,  from  their  fresh  bath  in  mountain  dew. 
Even  the  air  is  azure-tinted,  an  atmosphere  that 
does  not  wait  to  be  inhaled,  but  seems  to  breathe 
itself  into  and  through  each  pore  and  fibre  of  our 
being.  What  an  hour  of  rapture  ;  what  a  constant 
study  of  form  and  color !  What  excitement  to 
thread  just  one  more  of  the  many  curves  in  our 
road,  to  see  what  lies  beyond  it. 

When  a  mile  is  passed  we  reach  unexpectedly  a 
little  house  on  a  bank  above  the  road  —  any  human 
habitation  looking  so  incongruous  in  these  wild 
surroundings  —  where  it  seems  the  guide  to  the 
Cave  we  sought  keeps  old  bachelor's  hall.  This 
gentleman  had  just  arisen  as  we  passed,  and  think 
ing  we  might  wish  to  visit  the  natural  wonder 
under  his  charge,  and  would  be  disappointed  to 
find  its  barriers  closed,  quietly  slipped  his  untasted 
breakfast  into  a  basket  and  followed  us  with  the 
kind  offer,  which  went  straight  to  our  hearts,  to 
open  the  cavern  in  advance  of  usual  hours,  for  our 
especial  benefit,  although  we  learned  he  would 
reap  no  financial  benefit  thereby,  his  salary  being 
assured  in  any  case.  How  many  would  thus  have 


THE  HOME  STRETCH  185 

sacrificed  personal  comfort  and  convenience  for 
strangers  in  whom  he  had  no  interest  and  would 
never  see  again  ?  Evidently  the  law  of  kindness 
and  unselfishness  is  fostered  in  this  region. 

We  chatted  along  this  beautiful  canon  for 
another  half-mile  when,  a  little  to  our  dismay,  we 
arrived  opposite  to  the  entrance  of  the  Cave,  but 
we  were  on  terra  firma,  the  cavern's  mouth  was 
half  way  to  heaven,  being  situated  in  the  perpen 
dicular  face  of  the  cliff,  over  300  feet  above  us. 
Steep  trails  alternating  with  flights  of  stairs  led 
upward,  but  would  we  have  time  to  ascend  before 
the  breakfast  hour  ?  We  resolved  to  attempt  it, 
remembering  we  could  eat  when  Manitou  and  its 
glories  were  left  behind. 

We  found  this  Cave  of  the  Winds  a  diamond 
edition,  gilt-edged  and  illustrated,  of  all  the  caves 
it  has  been  our  fortune  to  examine,  not  that  it  is 
smaller  than  any  other,  but  so  choice  and  exquisite 
in  its  minute  details.  Quaint  little  stairways  lead 
from  one  elevation  to  another  and  crooked  by 
paths  turn  abruptly  in  an  unexpected  direction. 
Its  architecture  is  intricate  and  copyrighted.  We 
could  not  visit  all  of  its  thirty  or  more  chambers, 
our  time  being  necessarily  so  limited,  but  the 
excavation  known  as  Dante's  Inferno  deserves 
especial  mention  for  the  little  imps  and  satyrs  of 
Satanic  suggestion  are  as  delicate  as  an  ivory 
carving.  The  vegetable  garden  near  by  is  a  fruit- 


1 86  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

ful  one,  abounding  in  carrots,  turnips,  beets,  and 
sweet  potatoes  natural  enough  to  eat.  One  aisle 
of  exceeding  beauty  was  encrusted  on  its  ceiling 
and  sides  with  exquisite  coral  fret-work  and  floral 
crystallizations  whose  finely  cut  petals  our  kindly 
guide  revealed  more  distinctly  by  a  magnesium 
light.  Strange  trick  of  nature  to  expend  such 
lavish  workmanship  within  this  dark  recess, 
hidden  so  long  from  every  eye.  Our  chaperon 
will  never  know  what  a  rare  pleasure  he  conferred 
upon  us,  or  how  deeply  we  appreciate  it,  and  as  we 
can  never  return  such  favor  to  him,  we  will  pass  it 
on  to  his  neighbor  at  every  opportunity. 

The  motto  on  Denver's  escutcheon  should  read 
"Thrift,  thrift,  Horatio! "for  this  spirit  of  busi 
ness  enterprise,  of  energetic  push  permeates  the 
very  air.  It  is  a  wonderful  city  when  one  remem 
bers  its  rapid  growth,  its  present  wealth  and  pros 
perity.  Yet  nowhere  is  there  any  evidence  of 
hasty  formation,  there  is  no  sham  veneering. 
Great  attention  has  been  devoted  to  the  building 
of  substantial  structures,  Denver  profiting  per 
haps  by  the  lessons  wide-spread  conflagrations  in 
sister  cities  have  taught  her.  Even  the  beautiful 
dwellings  and  villas  are  all  of  brick  or  stone,  a 
wooden  house  of  any  description  being  difficult  to 
find.  Denver's  Court  House  and  the  Capitol, 
now  in  process  of  erection,  are  among  the  finest 


THE  HOME  STRETCH  l8/ 

buildings  in  the  country.  The  Trinity  (M.  E.) 
church,  the  largest  house  of  worship,  is  a  beautiful 
edifice,  it  has  a  magnificent  organ  and  possesses 
also  the  innovation  of  private  boxes  on  the  gallery 
floor,  which  theatrical  suggestion  grates  a  little 
unpleasantly  when  seen  in  a  house  of  worship 
until  we  learn  they  are  intended  for  the  use  of 
invalids,  who  can  thus  recline  while  listening  to 
the  sermon.  Fine  residences  creep  out  on  to  the 
prairie  almost  outside  the  city  limits,  surrounded 
by  green  lawns,  with  the  occasional  addition  of  a 
snow-ball  bush,  this  shrub  seeming  to  comprise 
Denver's  sole  floricultural  idea.  It  is  a  flowerless 
city  and  seems  especially  so  with  California's 
gardens  still  in  mind,  but  remembering  the  effort 
of  which  even  the  lawns  are  the  fruit,  recalling 
from  what  sterile  soil  the  place  has  been  so 
recently  evolved,  we  wait  confidently  for  the  next 
chapter  in  the  city's  record,  when  art  and  adorn 
ment  receive  the  same  attention  given  to  com 
mercial  prosperity. 

The  second  day  of  our  stay  in  Denver  is  devoted 
to  a  trip  to  Silver  Plume  including  a  descent  if  de 
sired  into  the  mine,  a  dark,  damp,  drippy,  disa 
greeable  place  where  silver  is  not  lying  around 
loose  as  some  had  supposed,  though  veinings  of 
the  ore  are  shown.  Lunch  is  partaken  at  George 
town,  a  pretty  place  not  quite  above  the  clouds, 
and  the  mountain  scenery  which  surrounds  it,  as 


1 88  THE  ROUND    TRIP 

well  as  the  entire  ride  through  Clear  Creek  Canon, 
where  the  track  makes  a  complete  loop  and  paral 
lels  itself  many  times,  is  among  the  grandest  yet 
enjoyed. 

This  detour  is  our  last,  and  for  the  first  time  we 
feel  as  if  we  had  started  for  home.  We  spend  the 
entire  next  day  crossing  the  broad  verdant  prai 
ries  of  Nebraska,  reaching  Omaha  at  sunset  and 
its  sister  city  on  the  hither  side  of  the  Missouri  — 
Council  Bluffs  —  a  few  moments  later.  Iowa  is 
not  skirted  in  darkness,  for  we  chance  to  en 
counter  a  severe  electric  storm,  which  happened 
to  be  travelling  in  the  same  direction  we  were  tak 
ing,  and  so  kept  us  company  the  entire  night,  with 
incessant  flashes,  the  roar  of  heaven's  artillery,  and 
the  patter  of  descending  torrents  upon  the  car- 
roof.  The  goblins  of  the  air  were  all  abroad  in 
wildest  mood  that  night.  We  were  glad  to  be  a 
passenger  rather  than  the  engineer,  whose  ex 
ceeding  vigilance  and  caution  we  could  plainly 
sense  as  he  felt  his  way  onward.  We  heard  on 
the  morrow  of  several  narrow  escapes ;  the  ex 
press  train  following  us  had  encroached  a  little 
too  closely  on  our  time,  a  cloud  burst  washed 
away  a  long  stretch  of  track  which  we  had  just 
passed  over,  but  the  providence  which  never 
faileth  justified  our  perfect  trust  in  its  pro 
tection. 

The  sight  of  the  broad  bosom  of  the  Father  of 


THE  HOME  STRETCH  189 

Waters  when  the  radiant  morning  dawned,  moved 
our  party  to  sing 

"  One  wide  river, 
One  more  river  to  cross," 

and  recalled  the  child's  query  why  the  Father  of 
Waters  should  not  be  called  Mister-sippi.  Soon, 
with  surprise  we  note  how  like  New  England 
becomes  the  type  of  scenery  in  Illinois.  Even  the 
embankments  beside  the  road  bristle  with  wild 
columbine  and  have  shady  groves  for  background. 
We  are  speeding  now  as  the  comet  flies,  approach 
ing  Chicago  no  nearer  than  Blue  Island  Junction, 
dashing  across  a  section  of  Indiana,  losing  Michi 
gan  and  most  of  Canada  in  the  night,  and  pausing 
only  to  take  breath  for  a  long  day  at  Niagara. 

Will  this  marvel  of  the  world  seem  disappoint 
ing  to  us,  we  wonder,  do  we  remember  it  correctly, 
will  it  have  shrunken  in  comparison  with  the 
grandeur  we  have  recently  witnessed?  Ah  no! 
Niagara  is  forever  a  fresh  surprise,  it  is  like 
nothing  else  but  its  own  marvellous,  stupendous 
self.  A  recent  storm  has  muddied  the  Falls  and 
only  the  sharpest  curve  of  the  horse-shoe  bend 
retains  that  shimmering,  translucent,  impossible 
green.  The  river  will  work  itself  clear  again  in  a 
day  or  two  ;  meanwhile  it  gave  new  effects  of  lace 
fret-work  and  sparkling  frost-like  garniture  over 
the  contrasting  foam-beaten  brown.  The  immense, 
incredible  volume  of  water  that  pours  over  this 


THE  ROUND    TRIP 


irregular  brink  can  only  be  appreciated  from  the 
river's  lower  floor,  or  at  the  slight  elevation  pro 
vided  by  the  little  steamer  Maid  of  the  Mist, 
which  at  a  safe  distance  allows  the  visitor,  clad  in 
water-proof  garments,  to  view  the  marvellous  spec 
tacle.  To  think  of  a  Republic  that  contains  a 
Niagara,  a  Yo  Semite,  and  a  California  !  God 
bless  her! 

Our  last  night  en  route  is  bounded  by  Buffalo  and 
North  Adams.  Only  three  hours  lie  between  us 
and  Boston,  only  the  insignificant  little  state  of 
Massachusetts  to  cross,  her  longest  way,  to  be  sure, 
but  such  a  trifle  in  comparison  with  the  continent. 
But  where  have  we  seen  a  fairer  state,  where  lovelier 
rural  scenes  in  this  rarest  month  of  all  the  year  — 
fresh,  leafy  June  ?  Graceful  New  England  elms 
are  swaying  green  pennons  across  village  streets, 
brooding  over  time-honored  homesteads,  or  shad 
ing  pleasant  door-yards  ;  broad,  generous  barns 
hold  the  stored  wealth  of  these  fertile  farms  ;  white 
spired  churches  point  heavenward,  surrounded  by 
plentiful  little  graveyards  (so  seldom  seen  in  newer 
countries)  ;  soon  we  reach  the  Deerfield  river  ;  the 
broad  Connecticut  ;  modest  Wachusett,  home-like 
and  dear,  though  humble  ;  lovely  woods  in  sprucest 
foliage  with  brand  new  floor-cloth  of  curling  ferns 
and  violets  blue  ;  how  beautiful  it  all  is,  how  rap 
idly  the  revolving  wheels  carry  us  nearer,  still 
nearer  home. 


THE  HOME  STRETCH  191 

And  now  the  "  Home  agains "  and  "  Home, 
sweet  homes  "  have  all  been  sung,  the  good  byes 
and  friendly  wishes  have  been  exchanged,  for  dear 
old  Boston  is  in  sight  and  excitement  reigns. 
How  unchanged  it  seems ;  how  unconscious  it 
looks  of  our  long  absence  or  the  importance  of  our 
return.  We  begrudge  the  customary  pause  at  the 
draw-bridge,  while  we  devour  the  familiar  piers, 
the  ships  that  are  imprisoned  here,  we  look  over 
to  other  bridges  that  span  this  tidal  Charles,  and 
ride  on  towards  the  Fitchburg's  wide  open  doors, 
pass  under  its  octagonal  grey  towers,  and  like  John 
Gilpin, 

"  Nor  stop  till  where  we  did  get  up 
We  do  again  get  down." 

The  same  irregular  crooked  streets,  the  same 
narrow  pavements  where  we  jostle  everybody's  el 
bows,  and  try  to  go  both  sides  of  the  people  we 
meet.  But  bless  us,  how  clean  they  all  are ! 
What  immaculate  linen  ;  what  spotless  mouchoirs! 
The  company  we  have  kept  for  the  last  day  or  two 
has  prepared  us  for  nothing  like  this.  The  Ray 
mond  lingerie  must  be  a  little  off-color. 

But  how  sincerely  we  pity  the  people  who  have 
not  been  to  California.  We  often  wonder  that 
those  who  travel  habitually  turn  always  to  the  Old 
world,  before  gaining  any  acquaintance  with  the 
New ;  why  cross  a  stormy  ocean,  a .  boisterous 
channel,  and  foreign  countries  by  rail  and  dili- 


IQ2  THE  ROUND  TRIP 

gence  to  see  —  Mount  Blanc,  for  instance,  when 
there  are  wonderful  Alps  and  Apennines  at  our 
own  doors  waiting  to  be  interviewed ;  and  where 
in  all  Europe  are  there  waterfalls  to  be  compared 
with  our  own  beautiful  cataracts  and  cascades  ? 
Then  there  are  the  stay-at-home  people  who  can 
afford  to  travel  and  do  not,  those  who  are  satisfied 
that  their  own  little  hamlet  is  a  good  enough  place 
to  live  in ;  to  such  we  would  respectfully  suggest 
that  they  can  never  view  their  own  surroundings 
correctly  until  the  same  are  seen  through  the  pros 
pective  of  distance.  Only  snails  and  turtles  carry 
their  shells  on  their  backs.  A  word  of  advice  also 
to  those  who  think  they  cannot  afford  such  seem 
ing  luxury ;  viz  :  resolve  you  will  travel  and  that 
determination  will  put  forces  into  action  which  will 
eventually  project  the  desired  result.  You  become 
a  magnet  to  attract  the  opportunity.  Meanwhile, 
economize  to  this  end.  Wear  last  year's  hat  an 
other  season,  turn  your  dresses  inside  out,  upside 
down  —  anything  for  the  glory  which  shall  be  re 
vealed  to  you,  anything  to  give  your  soul  this  priv 
ilege  of  widening  its  borders,  of  building  "  statelier 
chambers,"  enriching  its  store  of  present  knowl 
edge,  and  future  accumulation  of  blessed  memo 
ries,  Money  invested  in  that  bank  never  suffers 
default,  it  pays  perennial  interest  at  compound 
rates,  and. saves  your  sons-in-law  the  trouble  of 
spending  the  fruits  of  your  life -long  toil. 


THE  HOME  STRETCH  193 

If  you  want  to  be  happy,  healthy  and  wise,  if  you 
want  to  polish  down  the  sharp  angles  of  narrow 
selfish  interests  or  morbid  slant,  if  you  want  to  grow 
into  the  image  and  likeness  of  the  Creator  of  this 
beautiful  world,  which  in  all  its  glory  is  but  a 
shadow  of  the  real  Home  of  the  Soul,  then — travel ! 


